RAJKOT, India, Feb 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will rejoin the team on Sunday's day four of the third Test against England after he left midway through the match due to a family emergency, the country's cricket board said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said Ashwin "will continue to contribute towards the team's cause in the ongoing Test match" in Rajkot, after the player had earlier flown back to his hometown Chennai.

Ashwin will be available to bowl as soon as he is needed despite having spent all of day three off the field on Saturday.

According to the game's playing conditions, the umpires can waive the requirement for a player to spend as much time back on the field as they spent off it before bowling if their absence was for "wholly acceptable reasons, which shall not include illness or internal injury".

Ashwin, 37, had to leave the match on Friday's day two, hours after becoming just the ninth bowler to reach 500 Test wickets.

The off-spinner dismissed Zak Crawley for 15 for his milestone, joining fellow spinner Anil Kumble (619) as the second Indian to achieve the feat.

India bowled England out for 319 to take a handy lead of 126 as their bowlers, led by Mohammed Siraj, delivered in Ashwin's absence as India were left with 10 players to bat and bowl.

Ashwin's fellow spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after England won the opener, but India bounced back in the second match.