England paceman Stuart Broad was ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against India on Wednesday because of a torn calf muscle. 2nd Test Preview | Live Streaming | News
The 35-year-old seamer sustained the injury during a warmup session on Tuesday — two days before the start of the second Test at Lord's — and an MRI scan revealed a tear.
England might line up for a Test match without at least one of veteran pacemen James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the first time in nearly five years.
Broad reported a calf problem after pulling up during the warmup on Tuesday, while Anderson was unable to join Wednesday’s net session because of a tight quadriceps muscle.
READ: Saqib Mahmood Called As Cover For Injured Stuart Broad
The second Test between England and India starts Thursday at Lord’s.
Anderson and Broad are Nos. 1 and 2 on England’s list of all-time wicket takers, boasting 621 and 524 respectively, and have a combined total of 312 Test caps.
England have not started a Test without at least one of the two since October 2016, but that now looks a real possibility.
Saqib Mahmood has been added to the squad fresh from duty in The Hundred competition, and joins Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Craig Overton as the back-up pace options. Sam Curran is also on hand as an allrounder but another experienced campaigner, Chris Woakes, remains injured.
The situation with Anderson and Broad is sure to invite further questions over the England and Wales Cricket Board’s schedule, which left both men short of match practice coming into the prestigious series against India.
With a dedicated block of white-ball cricket leading up to launch of The Hundred, the red-ball specialists were forced to find net sessions to keep up their workloads in the absence of competitive cricket.
