Ravichandran Ashwin rejoined the Indian team on the fourth day of the third Test between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday.
The off-spinner was ‘withdrawn’ from the match after the second day’s play due to a family emergency. He had reached the 500-wicket mark in Tests on the same day with the scalp of opener Zak Crawley.
Ashwin is likely to join the team by lunch break and is likely to be allowed to bowl immediately, if required.
According to the ICC World Test Championship Playing Conditions, if a player is absent from the field for longer than eight minutes, the following restrictions shall apply to their future participation in the match:
“The player shall not be permitted to bowl in the match until he has either been able to field, or his team has subsequently been batting, for the total length of playing time for which the player was absent (hereafter referred to as Penalty time). A player’s unexpired Penalty time shall be limited to a maximum of 120 minutes. If any unexpired Penalty time remains at the end of an innings, it is carried forward to the next and subsequent innings of the match.”
England batted for just over 36 overs on the third day in the absence of Ashwin, while India has already batted twice that amount by lunch on the fourth day. Since Ashwin’s team - India - has been batting for a period of time that exceeds the total length of playing time missed by him, the off-spinner should be permitted to bowl straightaway.
Additionally, according to the playing conditions, a nominated player’s absence will not incur Penalty time if:
“In the opinion of the umpires, the player has been absent or has left the field for other wholly acceptable reasons, which shall not include illness or internal injury.”
With India en route to setting England a mammoth fourth-innings target and the match set to spill over into the fifth day on Monday, Ashwin’s skills with the ball could be vital.
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