Zaheer ruled out of England series, RP Singh called in

India’s dream of fighting England on even ground in the third Test suffered a big blow when spearhead Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the entire series. He may even struggle to get fit for the tour of Australia. A statement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India revealed that the injuries that kept Zaheer out of a major part of the first Test and the complete second Test were much more serious that imagined. [caption id=“attachment_55759” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the entire England series. Reuters”]  [/caption] “Zaheer Khan is suffering from a recurrent right hamstring strain and a right ankle impingement. He will require a surgery for his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring. He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely. He will therefore not be able to participate in the ongoing Test series and subsequent T20 International and ODI series against England,” said the statement. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked RP Singh as his replacement in the Indian squads for the Test series, and the T20 International and ODI series. RP Singh will join the team at the earliest. The Indian team management had said during the first Test that Zaheer should be better for the second Test but the injuries just kept mounting up. The replacements – Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and S Sreesanth have bowled their hearts out but they don’t have the experience nor the skill of Zaheer. Against an England line-up that bats deep, Zaheer’s absence is a body blow to the Indians. The 14-16 week rehabilitation period that has been set means that Zaheer will struggle to get fit for the tour of Australia as well. The injury will also bring the way his rehabilitation, from the previous injury, was handled into question. Was he brought back too early? Did he do the hard yards before returning to international cricket? Or was his inclusion a sign of a desperation on the part of the Indian team management? Whatever the reasons might be, his absence virtually rules out any chance of an Indian comeback in the series against England. Ishant, Praveen and Sree are good but they have lacked consistency and that’s something the England batsman have feasted on. Expect more of that come August 10.