Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur ruled out of Asia Cup: India have been hit by two more injury blows during the ongoing Asia Cup.
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Having already lost all-rounder Hardik Pandya due to a lower back injury, Indian ODI side has received two additional blows as a couple of more players have been injured during the ongoing Asia Cup in UAE.
According to reports in ABP News, all-rounder Axar Patel has injured his thumb whereas fast bowler Shardul Thakur has developed a groin injury. The extent to both the players’ injuries is serious enough to rule them out of the tourney.
Thakur had played India’s Asia Cup opener against Hong Kong but was expensive. On the other hand, Patel was yet to play a match in the tournament.
It is observed that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Siddarth Kaul have been named replacements for the injured pair. Both of them were representing Saurashtra and Punjab respectively in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s domestic One-Day tournament.
Jadeja, who played his first match for India this year in the last Test against England at The Oval, had last played an ODI against West Indies at Kingston more than a year ago. Having impressed one and all with his all-round skills at The Oval, he would be contended to see his name in the limited-overs side for he had recently expressed views on representing India in all formats.
Kaul, who had made his T20I and ODI debut during the recently concluded India’s tour of Ireland and England, would have expected more chances coming his way in a bid to prove himself, especially in ODIs. With bowling figures of 10-0-55-4, he ended up being the pick of the bowlers for Punjab in their first Vijay Hazare match against Himachal Pradesh at Alur yesterday.
With the Asia Cup running on a tight schedule, one can expect both these players getting a go in at least one of the matches.
