Colossal blow for England! Star player suffers 'serious' injury during 1st Test vs India

England’s bowling coach Jeetan Patel revealed about the injury that Jack Leach suffered during the ongoing first Test against India. He said that the spinner injured his knee while fielding at the fine leg and it might be pretty serious.

England spinner Jack Leach didn’t bowl much on Day 2 of the ongoing first Test between India and England. It raised a lot of questions as many lashed out at the skipper Ben Stokes for not utilizing the first-choice spinner despite him bowling well.

While other spinners bowled long spells, Jack Leach hardly bowled more than four overs in a spell. The spinner, however, bowled pretty well and troubled the Indian batters, bowling sharp lines and lengths and extracting turn from the surface.

However, now the reason behind that has been revealed. England’s bowling coach Jeetan Patel opened up about the injury the spinner suffered while fielding. He said that Jack Leach is getting troubled by that but the spinner wouldn’t shirk the responsibility. Speaking to reporters, he explained:

“Jack banged his knee last night, the first dive down at fine leg, then he banged it again today and it’s giving him a little jip to be honest. It must be pretty serious, or serious for him anyway, because the reality is he wouldn’t shirk that responsibility. It is sore enough, if you watch him in the outfield and I don’t think it’s a graze.”

Jeetan Patel further highlighted that despite being sluggish, Jack Leach bowled well. He spoke about the commitment of the off-spinner and added that it was a shame that he got injured again. He added:

“You noticed he was a little sluggish trying to get to balls, but he stuck at it and I thought he actually bowled really, really well considering. He tried everything and he used the options he had, bearing in mind he was a bit hampered. 

“That’s what Jack does for this team, he’ll always put in, but it’s a bit of a shame from where he’s come (with his rehabilitation), to dive on one at fine leg and all of a sudden you’re hobbling around.”

It was a tough day but the effort the guys put in were immense – England’s Jeetan Patel

Jeetan Patel further talked about England’s performance on Day 2 of the first Test against India. He admitted that it was a tough day for the team. He added that it’s important for them to make a comeback now and the game will work itself. He elaborated:

“It was a tough day but the effort the guys put in were immense, through the roof almost. If you walked into the ground and didn’t know the score you’d almost think we were right on top of the game. Today proves what that changing room is about. 

“We just need to make sure we come back, have that same attitude about how we take those three wickets, and the game will work itself out from there.”

After bundling out England for 246 runs, India took a lead of 175 runs. At stumps on Day 2, the hosts were 421/7 with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel batting at 81 and 35 respectively.