The reason why Rahane, Shami, Saha and Pandya were flown in to Chennai on the last day of the 5th Test

An excited bunch of men stood behind the Champions board after the Team India beat England in the Chennai Test to complete a remarkable 4-0 victory in the series. A close look at the faces and one could observe not just the players who played the last Test or were in reserves but also those who missed out due to injuries stood there with beaming smiles on their faces.

Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, Wriddhiman Saha and Hardik Pandya were released from the side after suffering respective injuries were pushed out of the remainder of the series but when it was time for the team to take series honors all the men were summoned back. Coach Anil Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli wanted the players to join the team in Chennai and the idea was put forward to the BCCI top brass.

The Telegraph quoted its source saying that the BCCI president Anurag Thakur as well secretary Ajay Shirke were supportive of the decision and the players were flown in. The idea behind it was not only for them to be a part of the celebration and enjoy the moment of glory with the team but also to get their recovery reviewed by the team physio Patrick Farhart who would also fly home to Sydney, Australia for Christmas and New Year.

“Anurag is game for anything when it comes to the players. So too is Shirke… Two objectives got served as Farhart had the chance to review the recovery and team bonding got taken a notch higher,” the source said.

Since he took over Kumble has put a lot of emphasis on team bonding exercises. Pandya who was altogether a surprise inclusion in the squad injured his right shoulder and was soon released from the squad before he could make his Test debut also featured in the team photo. But one member of the squad who played the first Test at Rajkot Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir was still missing.

Vice-captain Rahane had a tough time in the series in the first three Tests and fractured the index finger of his right hand ahead of the Mumbai Test and couldn’t play in front of his home crowd. Shami also had troubles with his right knee and missed out the last couple of matches. Saha strained his thigh after the first two matches and couldn’t play the major part of the series Parthiv Patel was called up as a replacement for him who also performed well.