India’s Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur have been ruled out of the Asia Cup and will be replaced by Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja and Siddharth Kaul.
Pandya not taking further part in the tournament was expected after he was stretchered off the field during the group encounter against Pakistan on Wednesday. He has been diagnosed with an acute back spasm and is undergoing treatment, according to a release. Chahar was called up as the all-rounder’s replacement.
Left-arm spinner Patel injured his left index finger while fielding in the game against Pakistan. He was sent for scans and the results showed that he had a tendon tear, which made him unavailable for the remainder of the series. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been called in to replace him.
Right-arm pacer Shardul Thakur, who didn’t play against Pakistan, experienced right hip and groin soreness after the game against Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The Pandya incident took place in the 18th over of the Pakistan innings when the all-rounder was bowling his fifth over.
It was the fifth delivery and Pandya, after completing the follow through, immediately felt his lower back and lay on the ground in considerable pain.
He was unable to get up and was stretchered off. He was then taken for medical examination.
Later, the BCCI tweeted that Pandya was suffering from an acute lower back injury.
Pandya ended with figures of 4.5-0-24-0 after Babar Azam’s catch was dropped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni when the batsman was on 32.
With inputs from PTI
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!