5 Bowlers Who Can Replace Ishant Sharma For Afghanistan Test

India is in danger of losing yet another key member for the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan. Their veteran pacer Ishant Sharma is in doubt for the clash starting on June 14 in Bengaluru.

Currently in England, Ishant did not participate in his County side Sussex’s last tie against Essex on Sunday. The news of him getting injured was confirmed by the County side itself as they announced Ishant will not be part of the playing XI due to an injury. The nature and extent of the injury is yet to be ascertained.

? One change for us today here at The Saffrons. @ollierobinson25 returns, replacing the injured @ImIshant.

Your Sussex Sharks XI: Wells, Wright, Finch, Brown*+, Evans, Burgess, Wiese, Archer, Jordan, Robinson, Briggs

? A word from the skipper… #gosbts #SharkAttack pic.twitter.com/H56vhlsw8x

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) June 3, 2018

Ishant will now have to undergo tests and finally pass the yo-yo test to make it to the starting XI. With the series against England coming up, it seems highly unlikely that India would risk Ishant Sharma against Afghanistan. Well it gives the selectors a chance to try out a new face.

So here are the five bowlers who can replace Ishant for the game:

5. Rajneesh Gurbani:

No one had grabbed the headlines as much as Rajneesh Gurbani during the last domestic season. 5 five wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in a match including the hat-trick in the Ranji Trophy final in which he picked up eight wickets, Gurbani played an integral role in Vidarbha’s fairytale campaign which ended with a historic title triumph. Gurbani finished the tournament as the second leading wicket-taker, having taken 39 wickets in 6 games. He also starred in the Irani Trophy.

The performances have helped him earn a place in the India A squad that will tour England in June-July. But while there is still some time left before the England tour commences, the selectors have the chance to try his abilities against Afghanistan.

4. Navdeep Saini:

Saini finished last season as Delhi highest wicket-taker, helping the side reach the final Of the Ranji Trophy. He finished the season with 34 wickets in 8 games.

Saini impressed one and all by frequently clocking speeds upwards of 140 kph throughout the competition. With Afghanistan not likely to pose much of a challenge, Saini can well be tried out.

3. Deepak Chahar:

That he is not intimidated by the prospect of delivering on the big stage is pretty much clear after his impressing outing in this year’s Indian Premier League. Chahar had become MS Dhoni’s go-to man in early overs and justified his faith almost every time. His ability to bowl fast and accurate fetched him 10 wickets at an average of 27.80.

2. Jaydev Unadkat:

Unlike last year, Unadkat had an IPL to forget this year. However, it does not undermine his immense abilities with the ball. Moreover, with India in search of a good left-arm pacer in order to add variety to their formidable attack, Unadkat can well end their long search.

1. Siddarth Kaul:

The pacer from Punjab just keeps on making all the right noises. In this year’s IPL, he was the joint second highest wicket-taker with 21 wickets to his name. The performances helped him earn a place in the Indian limited-overs team for the tour of Ireland and England. Well, with Ishant injured, the selectors can try out Kaul in the Test arena too by giving him a chance against Afghanistan.