India vs England: Chakravarthy fails fitness test, will miss T20Is
Ahead of the T20I series against England, leg-spinner spinner Varun Chakravarthy has yet again failed to clear the fitness test. It is understood that he has been ruled out of the five-match series with fitness concerns. As per a report in Cricbuzz, another leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is likely to be added to India's T20I squad. Here are the further details.
Chakravarthy has repeatedly failed to clear the fitness test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He was named in the Indian squad for the England T20I series. However, he is likely to miss the second series in a row due to fitness woes.
A senior BCCI source informed about the development to PTI. "Varun Chakravarthy was selected because he recovered from his shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Australia series. He did his rehab at the NCA and started throwing normally," said the official. "However, he has failed to clear the Yo-Yo test mark stipulated for a 2km run at least twice."
Chakravarthy earned his maiden call-up to the T20I squad for the Australian tour on the back of his impressive IPL run. He snapped up 17 scalps from 13 matches at 20.94, including a five-for in the 2020 edition. However, he lost his national spot due to injury, with T Natarajan replacing him. Ever since, he had been working on his fitness.
To claim the limited-overs spot, the players should clear the fitness tests as imposed by the BCCI in supervision of the team management and selectors. As per the new fitness standards, players have the choice to either clear the Yo-Yo test, whose level has been increased to 17:1, or run two kilometres in 8.15 minutes (for bowlers) and 8.30 minutes (for the rest).
Like Chakravarthy, all-rounder Rahul Tewatia might also miss the impending T20I series with fitness issues. Although he failed the first fitness test conducted at the NCA, the result from his second test in Ahmedabad is yet to be known. Leg-spinner Chahar, who made his T20I debut for India in 2019, is a likely replacement. Meanwhile, Natarajan is still recovering from his shoulder niggle.
