India were given another injury scare ahead of the Test series against England with Ravichandran Ashwin failing to take the field in the first two days of the ongoing warm-up game against Essex.
The off-spinner is understood to have taken a blow on his right hand during the team’s practice session. Following the injury, Ashwin did not come out to bat as India put up 395 runs on the board in their first innings after batting first at Chelmsford.
He did not come out to bowl too when Essex batted in their first innings during the second day before making a brief appearance on Friday.
The 31-year-old did bowl five overs of his off-spin on the third and final day as Essex declared their first innings at 359-8. Ashwin finished with figures of 0-21 from his five overs.
India have already lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar to injury.
The extent of Ashwin’s injury is not yet known but it is one that will have the Indian team management on their toes, especially after injuries to key pacers.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ruled out of the first three Tests after aggravating a lower back injury during the final ODI between England and India at Headingley. He has since returned to India to step up his rehabilitation. On the other hand, pacer Jasprit Bumrah is facing a race against time to get fit for the Test series after he broke his thumb during the second T20 against Ireland at Dublin.
Bumrah has been named in the 18-man India squad for the first three Tests but he is expected to miss out the series opener at Edgbaston which gets under way on August 1.