Jacob Bethell has become a possible doubt for England\u2019s opening Test of the home season, with the first match against New Zealand set for June 4 at Lord\u2019s, after he picked up a finger injury while playing in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).<\/p>\n
Bethell struck his left hand\u2019s ring finger while diving to stop a boundary during the last over of RCB\u2019s win over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday. As a result, he was ruled out of RCB\u2019s final group match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday night, and he was later observed in the dugout with strapping on the injured finger.<\/p>\n
The ECB said in a statement on Saturday night that it had reached an agreement with RCB for Bethell to return home. The board added that he will be \u201cfully assessed and monitored\u201d by England\u2019s medical team to \u201cdetermine his availability for selection\u201d for the first Test at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Bethell is expected to bat at number three in the first Test, following his maiden Test century in England\u2019s most recent innings against Australia at the SCG in January. However, his IPL form for RCB has been under scrutiny, with the batter managing 96 runs across seven innings, and his participation in the tournament has also sparked debate in English cricket given how close the IPL is to the start of the international summer.<\/p>\n
Somerset\u2019s James Rew is named as the spare batter for England\u2019s first Test squad. In the event Bethell is ruled out, RCB team-mate Jordan Cox would be in the frame for a late call-up.<\/p>\n
Bethell\u2019s spot at the top of RCB\u2019s batting order is being handled by Venkatesh Iyer, who struck 44 off 19 balls in Friday night\u2019s game. Phil Salt has also joined the squad ahead of the first qualifier against Gujarat Titans in Dharamsala on Tuesday, after suffering a separate finger injury.<\/p>\n
RCB said in a statement: \u201cEveryone at RCB wishes Jacob a speedy recovery and the very best for his rehabilitation process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remainder of England\u2019s squad is scheduled to arrive at Loughborough for a training camp on Sunday. The lone exception is Rehan Ahmed, who is still with the IPL, though his Delhi Capitals side are unlikely to reach next week\u2019s knockout phase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jacob Bethell has become a possible doubt for England\u2019s opening Test of the home season, with the first match against New Zealand set for June…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Jacob Bethell Finger Injury: IPL Impact for England vs NZ","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Jacob Bethell\u2019s finger injury could rule him out of England\u2019s Lord\u2019s Test vs NZ after his IPL stint with RCB\u2014latest injury update and impact.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n