Umesh Yadav has sore back, likely to miss second Test

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said that pacer Umesh Yadav, who is nursing a sore back, is likely to be rested for the second Test against England commencing here tomorrow.

"Umesh is doubtful for this Test match. He has a sore back, so when we are playing with two fast bowlers and two spinners I don't think we can take a risk with him. So most likely he will miss this Test match," said Dhoni at the pre-match media conference at the Wankhede Stadium here today.

The skipper also ruled out any chance of including A third spinner in the team.

"Not really. We are looking at a 2-2 combination. Add balance to the side. Also you don't know exactly whether you are bowling first or batting first. Which means if the spinners are bowling and there is not much turn for them, ball is not stopping. It may be difficult for them to restrict the batsmen," Dhoni said.

"He (Harbhajan) has to wait as (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Pragyan) Ojha are bowling well," Dhoni added when asked if Harbhajan will be sitting out again after being in the reserves in the opening game at Ahmedabad.

In the first Test, which India won by nine wickets, Ashwin went wicket-less for a long time in the second innings till he dismissed Graeme Swann when the tail-end batsman attempted a reverse sweep and was bowled.

The 26-year-old off-spinner had picked up three wickets in England's first innings. He was a bit unlucky though as a few chances off his bowling went abegging.

Ojha, on the other hand, bowled well as he claimed five and four wickets, respectively in two innings.

Asked whether speedster Ishant Sharma would replace Yadav if the latter failed to make it to the playing eleven, Dhoni said the Delhi bowler had a good chance of playing.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Now we are playing winning cricket, says Morne Morkel

The Virat Kohli story and IPL's EPL moment

Mobile viewers hook on IPL consuming over 9 lakh hrs of video

Sachin Tendulkar's current form suggests a bounce back may not be possible