England vs India, 2021: Saqib Mahmood Called Up To England Squad As Backup For Stuart Broad

Saqib Mahmood has been added to England squad for the second Test against India that is set to take place at Lord’s from August 12-16. He will be joining the team as a cover for experienced campaigner Stuart Broad.

The pace bowler received the call-up after a calf injury to Broad left his participation in doubt. Broad suffered the injury during a warmup session on Tuesday and was subsequently ruled out of the training session that followed in the afternoon.

Last month, a covid-19 outbreak in the England squad had forced all the players to go into quarantine. As a result, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a fresh squad that consisted of plenty of newcomers, with Ben Stokes as the captain. Mahmood was also included and he made the most of the opportunity. He ended up as the highest wicket-taker, picking up nine wickets from three ODIs to inflict a whitewash on the Pakistanis.

Stuart Broad gets added to a long list of already injured England pacers

In recent times, England adopted a rotation policy to ensure the workload of the players doesn’t start affecting them. They’ve chopped and changed the squad plenty of times. However, the pace bowlers have still sustained injuries, with a few ruled out even before coming into the series.

Jofra Archer has an elbow injury that has persisted for a while now. He even had surgeries but hasn’t been able to fully recover from the nagging problem. Very recently, it was confirmed that Archer will be out for the rest of the season, including the 2021 T20 World Cup and the Ashes.

Similarly, Chris Woakes also has issues with his fitness. He was ruled out of the first two Tests against India due to a broken heel that he sustained against Pakistan. Luckily, England has plenty of seam options in the bag, with Saqib Mahmood being their primary back-up.

Also Read: Joe Root, Jasprit Bumrah Make Significant Gains In The Latest ICC Test Rankings