India will start as the firm favourites in the upcoming world cup when the Virat Kohli led team will start their campaign against a strong South Africa on June 5. Before the start of the main draw, Team India is scheduled to play two warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh. The men in blue participated in the first net session at the Oval in London but it has only brought bad news for the team.
India is now left with three injury hit players ahead of the first warm-up game against New Zealand and two of them had to sit out of the game that means India will play in the game with 13 players. Its worth mentioning that, all the members of the squad can play the practise game but as a precautionary measure, the team management decided to rest two of its players.
A nasty bouncer hits Gabbar
The Delhi lad is the only left handed in the team that allready makes him a most valuable player. In the first practise session, Shikhar was hit on the helmet by a nasty bouncer and he sustained a small injury.
His net session was cut short as team physio Pattrick Farhart attended with first aid. The 33-year-old was hit in the region around his lips and the jaw but the injury was not a big concern and he was adjudged fit to feature in the first warm-up game against New Zealand.
Vijay Shankar hit on hand
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder was hit on the right hand in the net session and immediately walked off. The ball was bowled by Khaleel Ahmed who has joined the national team as a net bowler.
Shankar’s injury was scanned and luckily for the Indian fans, it was not a serious issue as the chances of fracture was ruled out. As a precautionary measure, the team management decided not to play him in the warm-up game against New Zealand.
Kedar Jadhav’s shoulder injury
The all-rounder faced a shoulder injury while playing for Chennai Super Kings’ last league game against Kings XI Punjab. The injury raised questions about his participation in the world cup but the Pune lad recovered in time.
Jadhav didn’t bat at the nets in the first practise session and the physio kept a close eye on his fitness. The 33-year-old did some running and practised with tennis balls. He is expected to recover on time before India’s world cup opener against South Africa.
