IND vs ENG: When can Ashwin bowl once more after returning to play third Test following household emergency?

Ravichandran Ashwin rejoined the Indian crew on the fourth day of the third Test between India and England on the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday.

The off-spinner was ‘withdrawn’ from the match after the second day’s play attributable to a household emergency. He had reached the 500-wicket mark in Tests on the identical day with the scalp of opener Zak Crawley.

Ashwin is prone to be a part of the crew by lunch break and is prone to be allowed to bowl instantly, if required.

According to the ICC World Test Championship Playing Conditions, if a participant is absent from the sector for longer than eight minutes, the next restrictions shall apply to their future participation within 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 simply over 36 overs on the third day within the absence of Ashwin, whereas India has already batted twice that quantity by lunch on the fourth day. Since Ashwin’s crew – India – has been batting for a time period that exceeds the overall size of taking part in time missed by him, the off-spinner needs to be permitted to bowl straightaway.

Additionally, based on the taking part in situations, a nominated participant’s absence is not going to 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 path to setting England a mammoth fourth-innings goal and the match set to spill over into the fifth day on Monday, Ashwin’s expertise with the ball may very well be important.