Calcutta: It's strange, but true.

As of Wednesday, there's actually a fair chance that India's first-choice Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha won't be available for the entire five-match series in England.

For now, however, Saha isn't in the squad for the first three Tests - between August 1-August 22.

"Saha's recovery from a fractured right thumb hasn't been satisfactory. He hasn't responded well enough to the rehab at the National Cricket Academy, in Bangalore...

"At this moment, therefore, Saha is uncertain for all five Tests, not just the first three," chief selector MSK Prasad told The Telegraph while driving from Leeds to London a couple of hours after the selection committee meeting, around breakfast time in the UK.

While Prasad and colleague Sarandeep Singh are in England, the other selector (Devang Gandhi) was on a con-call from Calcutta.

Prasad will soon be back home. Once Sarandeep completes his ongoing India A duty, he'll stay on for the first two Tests. Devang would be the selector-on-assignment for the last three matches of what is a long tour.

Saha suffered the fracture as far back as May 25, during the IPL XI Qualifier II match featuring Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. As a result, he missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan, more than a month ago.

It's certainly odd that Saha's fracture hasn't healed.

Given the tardy pace of Saha's recovery, questions are being asked as to why he wasn't put under the scalpel after, perhaps, assessing for a month. According to a well-placed source, that may now belatedly be done.

If that does happen, then more questions will be lobbed. For example, why was surgery not advised after the initial period of rehab itself?

It's unfortunate that, of late, injuries have been hurting the 33-year-old Saha's India career. In January, he had to return home from South Africa after playing in only the first Test, owing to a left-hamstring injury. The irony is that the injury occurred after Saha's Asian record-scripting effort in Cape Town.

With Saha unfit, Dinesh Karthik kept wickets against Afghanistan. He has also been retained as the No. 1 gloveman for the first three Tests, with young Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

Pant's is a deserving call-up and it seems the end of the road for Parthiv Patel.

Saha's post-May 25 recovery is in stark contrast to that of new-ball bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The latter fractured his left thumb on June 27, in Ireland, but is set to be fit from the second Test onwards. In other words, Bumrah is expected to be ready for selection ahead of the Lord's match, which begins on August 9.

While the nature of injury can definitely vary, as too the degree of fracture, Saha's case is nothing short of strange.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has a full-fledged Media department, needs to learn from Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa. Both Boards regularly update the world on the recovery by contracted players.

Australia and South Africa's transparency leaves no room for speculation and there's clarity on the expected way forward.

That's professionalism.

As for swing specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he is returning home for rehab in Bangalore. He'd walk into the Test XI in England.

Bhuvneshwar recently picked up a back strain and, so, hasn't been selected for the first three Tests. He'd had an issue during the IPL as well.

"As things stand, Bhuvneshwar should be available for the last two Tests (between August 30 and September 7)," Prasad informed.

India would be featuring in a five-Test series overseas for the first time since the 2014 tour of England and that has encouraged the selectors to pick the squad in stages.

"By going about it this way, we will have flexibility, something which would be beneficial. Also, we have to review where things stand vis-a-vis Saha and Bhuvneshwar," Prasad maintained.

Sensible enough. Besides, there won't be any room for complacency.