Australia vs India: Pant, Jadeja get injured; India's problems worsen
The Indian cricket team's problems with injuries have continued to mount. In the ongoing third Test at the SCG, Team India duo Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja suffered injuries and have been taken for scans. While Pant has been replaced by Wriddhiman Saha in Australia's second innings. a substitute for Jadeja is yet to be named. Here is a timeline of India's injured players.
Premier pacer Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the four-match Test series. The right-arm pacer had earlier suffered a side strain injury during the IPL 2020 season. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was ruled out for the first two Tests while undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. The senior batsman landed in Australia ahead of the second Test but had to undergo mandatory quarantine of 14 days.
On December 19, pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out for the remainder of the series. He suffered a fracture on his arm and was in a lot of pain. While batting on Day 3 of the D/N Test, he was hit on the right arm of a bouncer by Pat Cummins. Shami retired hurt as India recorded their worst batting performance (36/9d).
Indian pace spearhead Umesh Yadav was ruled out of the remaining Tests against Australia due to calf muscle injury. The 33-year-old, who limped off the field on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test, left for India to undergo rehabilitation. The fast bowler injured his calf while bowling. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan was drafted into the Test squad as Umesh's replacement.
In another blow suffered by the Indian cricket team, KL Rahul was ruled out of the remaining Test series against Australia with a sprained left wrist. The right-handed batsman had hurt his wrist during India's training session at the MCG earlier this month. Although Rahul hadn't featured in the first two matches, he could have been a valuable resource as a backup.
Pant was struck on his elbow while batting in the first innings. However, Pant continued to bat after sustaining the blow. The BCCI reported that Pant has been taken for scans, the results of which will arrive soon. Saha will keep wickets for India in the second innings. Meanwhile, Jadeja suffered a similar blow on his left thumb while batting in the first innings.
