Rahul Tewatia fails fitness test ahead of the T20I series against England

Rahul Tewatia's availability for the T20I series is uncertain as the all-rounder failed to clear the fitness test. The 27-year-old received his maiden Team India call-up after his impressive performance in the 2020 edition of the IPL. Varun Chakravarthy also failed the mandatory fitness test.

Rahul Tewatia came into the limelight for smashing six sixes in 8 balls. The all-rounder smashed 53 runs against Punjab Kings in an IPL 2020 match in Sharjah, taking the Royals to an impressive victory. As per sources, Rahul Tewatia and Varun Chakravarthy scored way below the fitness benchmark expected from national team players. A cricketer needs to either score 17:1 in the Yo-Yo test or cover 2km in 8.3 minutes. BCCI has made it mandatory for players to clear at least one parameter in order to become eligible to play for India.

However, it is not the end of the road for Rahul Tewatia and Varun Chakravarthy. The duo will get another opportunity to prove their fitness. A source also stated that it is not a concern if a player has failed to meet the parameter in their first attempt.

Varun is out of competition since the conclusion of the 2020 Indian Premier League

Chakravarthy had a reasonably successful IPL season with the Kolkata Knight Riders in UAE. The 29-year-old spinner was one of KKR's most successful bowlers. Varun scalped 17 wickets in 13 matches at an economy of 6.84.

In the 2020 season of IPL, Rahul Tewatia scored 255 runs at an average of 42.50. He picked up 10 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.08.

India's T20I squad

Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Rahul Tewatia, Ishan Kishan (WK), Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, and Shardul Thakur.

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