CWC 2019: Injury scare for team India ahead of the warm-up game
What's the news?
Vijay Shankar has suffered an injury during the net practice session. The extent of the injury remains to be seen as there is no official word from the BCCI.
In case you didn't know...
India is set to take on New Zealand on 25th May in first of their two scheduled warm-up matches ahead of the tournament.
The heart of the matter
Indian team is already sweating on the fitness of Kedar Jadhav and while the all-rounder passed fitness test conducted by physio Patrick Farhart, his participation in the warm-up matches is not yet confirmed. Now according to Cricinfo, Vijay Shankar had to go back to the dressing after being hit on the forearm.
The 28-year-old was trying to play a pull shot off the bowling of Khaleel Ahmed, who is one of the four net bowlers in the travelling party. The right-handed batsman missed the shot as the ball hit him, which caused him pain.
The worrying part is that the all-rounder was seen carrying his bats with the other hand, which indicates that he was feeling the discomfort. The team management might refrain from taking risk of playing him even if there is little doubt about his fitness. This will compound the problems of the Indian team who are likely to miss the services of Kedar Jadhav in the warm-ups.
Jadhav trained on Thursday and Friday under watchful eyes of the Indian physio. He also had a net session but it was not in the main nets which indicates that he might not be ready for the warm-up game vs New Zealand.
Injury to these two in the middle-order might open the door for KL Rahul who might get an opportunity to prove his worth. While KL Rahul has been picked as a backup opener, he can also play in the middle order.
What's next?
India will play two warm-up games vs New Zealand and Bangladesh before opening their World Cup campaign vs South Africa on 5th June.