Good news for captain Rohit Sharma, Ashwin joined Team India in Leicestershire after recovering from Kovid

There is good news for the Indian team that after recovering from Kovid 19, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has joined Team India in Leicestershire. However, he is not playing in the warm-up match against Leicestershire which started on Thursday. Last week, Ashwin was unable to fly to England along with other Indian team members as he tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday morning, he was seen with the team in a white kit but his name was not on any team sheet. This match is being played between 13 members per team.

Ashwin has a wealth of experience playing in England, which will make the Indian camp happy to have him join the team. He has also played county cricket for two clubs. Ashwin currently remains at number two in the ICC Test bowlers' rankings for bowlers and number three in all-rounders' rankings. He was part of the team during the four-Test matches played last year in the Pataudi Trophy but did not play a single match.

Ashwin could be a big contender for a place in the team if conditions suit the two spinners in the fifth Test starting July 1 at Edgbaston. His county figures are dominant for Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, where he has taken 61 wickets at an average of 25.32 and scored 553 runs at an average of around 37.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Prasadhi Krishna were included in the Leicestershire team. The main reason for this was that all the players of the visiting team could be practiced. This is the only practice match ahead of the fifth Test starting next week.