Reports: Dinesh Karthik injures finger ahead of third Test
The Indian cricket team were dealt another blow as wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has reportedly injured his finger ahead of the third Test against England to be held at Trent Bridge in Nottingham starting today.
While speaking to Cricbuzz, Harsha Bhogle mentioned that he might have injured his finger
“We are seeing a lot of Rishabh Pant here actually. With Dinesh Karthik, I don’t know if the finger injury is hurting as well. But Pant is looking in the thick of the things."
Dinesh Karthik has been less than impressive in the Test series so far, with two ducks to his name in four innings. In the other two innings, he managed 1 and 20. There have been reports of him being replaced by youngster Rishabh Pant for the upcoming Test in Nottingham and with his reported injury, this could be a big possibility.
Pant was impressive in the warm-up match against the England Lions and will be itching to make his Test debut for the Indian cricket team.
He was also seen batting and keeping in the warm-up sessions over the past few days, which indicates that he will be making his debut.
He will most likely bat lower down the order at no. 7 or if Kohli decides to shake things up, he could even open the innings for the side.
If Karthik is injured, he joins a list of few other Indian cricketers who are injured such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha.
Jasprit Bumrah, on the other hand, has recovered from his injury and is set to make a return to the Test side for the third Test against England. He will most likely replace Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Kuldeep failed to make a mark in the second Test as he did not pick up a single wicket.