England batsman Zak Crawley has been ruled out of the first two Tests of the four-match series against India due to a wrist injury.
Crawley jarred his right wrist after slipping on the marble floor leaving the dressing rooms onto the field of play on Tuesday, according to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
“Scan results have confirmed that Crawley has jarred his right wrist, which has sprained the joint and led to local inflammation,” an ECB release stated.
The England medical team will continue to assess his progress over the next few weeks, the release further stated.
Crawley had aggregated only 35 runs across four innings in Sri Lanka in the two-Test series which England won 2-0.
Ollie Pope, who has recovered from shoulder surgery and was added to England squad on Wednesday, is likely to return to the middle-order.
England will need to beat India in the Test series, which begins Friday, by one of the following margins: 3-0, 3-1, 4-0 to enter the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC), slated to be played in June at the Lord’s, London.
On the other hand, India need to win the series by one of the following margins: 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1, or 4-0 to face New Zealand in the WTC final.