This year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) could easily be rechristened the Injured Premier League, with some of the biggest names ruled out of the tournament’s tenth edition due to some niggle or the other.
Virat Kohli may skip IPL 10 because of a shoulder injury sustained in the Ranchi Test. Indian opener KL Rahul pulled out of the tournament last Friday, again due to an injured shoulder, and it just kept getting worse from there on.
With an eye on the ICC Champions Trophy in June this summer, R Ashwin, Murali Vijay and AB de Villiers too have sent out feelers of giving the T20 tournament a miss.
Here’s a compiled list of all the injury updates:
1. Virat Kohli
Ruled out of the Dharamsala Test against Australia after injuring his shoulder in Ranchi, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s captain Virat Kohli is a doubtful starter for IPL 10.
After sitting on the sidelines for the four days of the final Test against the Aussies, the Indian captain had suggested his shoulder strain would take a “few weeks” to heal.
It’s still a few weeks to go before I can be 100 percent on the field.Virat Kohli
Kohli has been been a part of RCB since the IPL’s first edition in 2008, and lead the team to the final in 2009 and 2011.
The Indian skipper is scheduled to undergo a medical reassessment in the second week of April, when the medical team will decide how soon Kohli can start playing.
In case he can’t participate in the IPL, AB de Villiers will be heading RCB this season. Whether de Villiers himself will be available for the opening fixture is another question altogether.
Also Watch: Virat Kohli Joins RCB Camp in Bangalore
2. KL Rahul
If Virat Kohli’s absence wasn’t enough to hurt Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign, Friday morning was a bad start for the team as the news of KL Rahul’s injury made the rounds.
While the cricketer scored India’s winning runs in the series decider against Australia, Rahul is currently in London – with teammate Murali Vijay and India team physio Patrick Farhart – where he is likely to undergo surgery on his left shoulder.
He may not be available for the IPL as he will have to complete his rehabilitation, BCCI said. The Indian opener had injured himself during the Australia Test series opener in Pune.
After he played for RCB in 2013, the Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Rahul for Rs 1 crore in 2014. He then returned to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 season, where he was the team’s third highest run-scorer with 397 runs in 12 innings.
No replacement has been name for KL Rahul so far.
3. AB de Villiers
Another RCB star AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the opening match of the tournament due to an injury.
The South African batsman who was supposed to play for Titans in the Momentum One Day Cup final just last week, was ruled out of the match due to a back injury.
In his 120 IPL matches, he has scored 3,257 runs at an average of 39.24 with 21 half centuries and 3 centuries.
Also Read: Has the Indian Premier League Lost Its Mojo?
4. Ravichandran Ashwin
The long Indian home season didn’t hurt just the RCB camp, with Rising Pune Supergiant’s R Ashwin too set to miss the IPL because of a sports hernia. The star spinner has been advised to undergo rehabilitation for the next six to eight weeks.
Ashwin is the second player after Mitchell Marsh from the Rising Pune Supergiant camp to withdraw his name from the tournament.
Ashwin had first injured himself after the Test series against England in December and had then pulled out of the Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy semifinal.
5. Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay might also miss the IPL due to a wrist and shoulder injury he had been carrying throughout the season. The Indian and Kings XI Punjab opener’s right wrist will be operated on, and he will be undergoing rehab for his left shoulder, said BCCI.
Vijay had injured his shoulder during the Test against England in Chennai last year and had been advised to undergo surgery then.
Kings XI Punjab on Monday replaced Vijay with Ishant Sharma, whom they purchased for his base of price of Rs 2 crore.
Also Read: After Auction Snub, Ishant Sharma Gets Picked By Kings XI Punjab
6. Sarfaraz Khan
Rooting for the young batsmen in the absence of Virat and AB, Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a major blow when 19-year-old Sarfaraz Khan was deemed a doubtful for the entire IPL season after an injury during a match in Bengaluru.
The young batsman was expected to partner Chris Gayle in the absence of Kohli.
RCB head coach Daniel Vettori told India Today:
Owing to a leg injury during the final Bangalore based practice match session, Sarfaraz Khan will most likely be unavailable to play as a part of the RCB squad this IPL, and we are evaluating the same with the BCCI.
Sarfaraz first came to the forefront, when at just 12 years of age, he recorded the highest score in the Harris Shield inter-school tournament with 439 runs in an innings. RCB bought Khan for Rs 50 lakhs in 2015, soon after which he became the youngest player to play in the IPL.
7. JP Duminy
Delhi Daredevils' South Africa star Jean-Paul Duminy withdrew from the upcoming edition of the IPL on 20 March, just 16 days before the start of the tournament.
The batting all-rounder pulled out of the tournament owing to ‘personal reasons’, said the franchise’s official press release. However, Duminy, along with the rest of the South African team, has also had a busy cricket season which continues till after the Champions Trophy.
A regular member of the Delhi Daredevils squad since 2014, Duminy is the franchise’s fifth-highest scorer with 1015 runs in 38 matches at a strike rate of 130.79. He also led the team in the 2015 IPL edition and captained the side in two matches in last year’s season.
8. Quinton de Kock
Besides Duminy, Delhi Daredevils will also be missing the services of Quinton de Kock. The batsman, who suffered a tendon damage on his right index finger, was cleared to play South African’s Hamilton Test against New Zealand but pulled out of the IPL.
Cricket South Africa wanted that de Kock recover before the Champions Trophy and England Tests that follow the IPL.
Quinton is a big loss because he played so many games for us and was one of our main batsmen. We had built him up for this season, but this is how life is and you cannot do much about it.Rahul Dravid, Delhi Daredevils Coach
9. Mitchell Marsh
Rising Pune Supergiant’s Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of the IPL after he underwent a surgery recently. The Australian batsman picked up a shoulder injury in the Bangalore Test against India and subsequently returned home.
Marsh, who was bought by RPS last year, had left the tournament midway due to a side strain.
Marsh has been replaced by Imran Tahir who was unsold in the IPL Player Auction. The South African leg-spinner was picked from the registered available player pool list (RAPP list).
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