ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Vijay Shankar Injury Makes Indian Team Sweat

Mere hours after England captain, Eoin Morgan picked up a finger injury in practice, now it is India’s turn on the injury roulette table. Ahead of their first warm-up match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Indian allrounder Vijay Shankar was forced to leave the training session midway.

The 28-year old was struck on his right hand, specifically on his forearm. The incident occurred when he attempted a pull against left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. The Indian team sent their batsmen out on groups and Vijay Shankar was in the second batch.

After getting hit, he went back to the dressing room for assessment of the injury. As of now, no official word has come in from the BCCI on Shankar’s status. So, questions have arisen regarding his availability for the warm-up fixture against New Zealand on Saturday.

The India cricket team could be in a fix if Vijay’s injury is serious, especially since Kedar Jadhav has only just returned from his own injury. Jadhav missed the remainder of the IPL 2019 season due to a shoulder injury and it is not known if he is fully fit.

In spite of the shoulder, the selectors had faith in Jadhav and retained him in the 15-man squad. Their decision was supported by a green light from team physiotherapist Patrick Farhart.

Ahead of their opening warmup game, India had a training session at the Oval on Thursday and Friday. Jadhav took it easy on both days with some throwdowns without batting in the main nets. 24 hours later, he felt confident enough to do the complete drill, including fielding practice, before wrapping it by batting in the nets.

However, despite the progress, Jadhav will still be on the bench for the warm-up game against New Zealand. If Vijay recovers, he will likely occupy the No.4 slot, a position that was much debated in the buildup to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

In the worst case scenario, if Vijay is out of action, KL Rahul could get the nod to replace him. The original plan was for Rahul to cover for the openers, but Prasad is confident that he is perfectly capable to bat in the middle order.