The 4th test match between India and England is currently underway at Kennington Oval in London. The English Captain Joe Root today won the toss and decided to bowl first. Both the Captains announced a couple of changes in their squad. The England side has Crish Woakes and Ollie Pope coming in for the match in the place of Sam Curran and Jos Buttler respectively. On the other hand, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami were left out of the Indian XI. The changes in the Indian side raised a lot of eyebrows as leaving out Mohammed Shami was not justifiable. Herewith, find why Mohammed Shami is not playing today in ENG vs IND 4th test.
Why Shami is not playing today?
It was earlier reported that the changes in the XI will be brought for the 4th test to keep the bowlers match-fresh. Though during the toss it was made clear by Virat Kohli that why Shami is not playing today. He stated that both Shami and Ishant are suffering from niggles and are not fully fit to play. Hence, Umesh Yadav has been brought in for Shami. Meanwhile, the fast-bowing allrounder, Shardul Thakur, is replacing Ishant Sharma.
Both Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma bowled a significant number of overs in the series which might have strained their body. The World number 2 bowler, Ravichandran Ashwin yet again didn’t find a place in the XI.
What is Niggle in Cricket?
Niggle is experiencing discomfort, pain, or the inability to execute a previously honed skill. Niggles are common among cricket players, especially among pace bowlers. Niggles are not a major injury and they can be healed quickly.
Here’s what both the captains had to say during the toss
The English captain revealed that they were looking forward to bowl first and use the overcast conditions. “We’re going to bowl first. Going to make use of the overhead conditions. Looks like a good morning for bowling. We need to still hit the right lines and lengths like we did at Headingley,” Root said after winning the toss.
Meanwhile, the India captain, Virat Kohli said that they as well would have liked to bowl first. “We would have bowled first as well but toss isn’t something you can control. Need to be prepared for either. We’re looking forward to putting runs on the board. For us, it’s about partnerships, we can’t focus too much on individuals. The opening partnerships have been good, it’s about getting more partnerships,” Kohli said.
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The visitors are yet again on the back foot
England has dominated the first session of the play on Day 1. The English Bowlers removed the top three Indian batsmen under 40 runs. A while after lunch, Ravi Jadeja as well was sent back by Chris Woakes. Currently, Virat Kohli has held one end with Ajinkya Rahane on the other side who has just come into the middle. The hosts have fully utilized the overcast conditions and the Indian side would like the sun to peep out, the sooner the better for the visitors.