Despite suffering a left knee injury when fielding in Hyderabad, Leach was still able to bowl 10 overs in the second innings, helping England to an incredible victory of 28 runs.
As England got ready for the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Friday, he did not bowl in training on Wednesday.
Due to Leach’s absence, Shoaib Bashir, a teammate from Somerset, might make his debut.
Uncapped off-spinner Bashir, 20, returned to the UK to finalise his delayed visa and joined the England team for the opening Test.
The 32-year-old experienced recurrent knee swelling following two different occurrences on the field in Hyderabad, which limited him to bowling brief bursts during India’s opening innings.
On the fourth day, despite having a lot of strapping on his leg, he was able to bat and bowl and claimed the vital wicket of Shreyas Iyer, causing India to lose only four Test matches at home.
Leach’s left leg was still considerably swollen, and he was wearing compression tights to training on Wednesday.
“He’s a tough cookie,” BBC Sport was told by England opener Zak Crawley. “You can’t ignore him forever. We’ll see how he recovers from the sore knee he experienced in the previous game. He’s still in the running to play right now.
“We have tremendous depth, but it would be unfortunate for Leachy to lose out—he is a wonderful bowler. We can support them with skilled seamers and a potent spin attack.”
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For this series, Bashir was an unexpected addition to the England roster. In just six games since making his first-class debut last summer, the right-armer has claimed ten wickets.
However, similar to left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, another player selected from left field, who claimed 7-62 in Hyderabad’s second innings, England thinks the tall Bashir has what it takes to be successful in India.
If Bashir participates, he would aim to carry on the success that Test debutants have enjoyed since captain Ben
Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge of the England team.
Seamer Matthew Potts took seven wickets in the match on his debut against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2022, while later that series Jamie Overton made 97 batting at number eight at Headingley.
Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed both scored five wickets in an innings during their debuts against Pakistan last winter, making Hartley the third spinner to do so under Stokes and McCullum.
Furthermore, Bashir is “absolutely” prepared to play in Visakhapatnam, according to Kent opener Crawley.
Crawley remarked, “He’s a great kid.” “There’s a lot to him. He supports himself and is aware of what he wants to achieve with his bowling. I think it’s great and that he would do well in this series if given the chance.”
Bashir may replace Leach, leaving England with just three caps shared by Hartley, Ahmed, and Bashir—their three front-line spinners.
