IPL 2017: Team wise injury list

Days before the start of one of India’s prominent domestic tournaments – the IPL, all franchises are ruminating on the possible forced changes to their combinations owing to injuries to leading cricketers, most of whom are Indians.

The latest casualty is Ravi Ashwin who plays for Rising Pune SuperGiant. The star off-spinner reportedly had a recurrence of a sports hernia which has forced him out of action for at least six weeks. He is, though, expected to be fit in time for India’s title defense of the ICC Champions Trophy which is scheduled to be held in June. This has left a void in the RPS squad as they already lost Mitchell Marsh last month due to a shoulder injury he sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Murali Vijay, who plays for the Kings XI Punjab, is also expected to miss at least three-quarters of the tournament due to a wrist and shoulder niggle which may or may not require surgery. Vijay is a crucial member for Kings XI, who now are fretting over his non-participation.

Vijay’s opener partner in the Indian Test side – KL Rahul is set to miss the entire season as he flies to England to undergo a shoulder surgery, which he sustained in the first Test against Australia last in February. Rahul was a crucial cog in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s powerful batting line-up and also donned the big gloves behind the wickets. With their captain Kohli already set to miss at least the first few games, RCB’s side looks a little depleted. Indian international players are always crucial to any franchise and it’s a big void to fill if star players like Rahul and Kohli are missing games. Their overseas batsman AB de Villiers is also likely to miss the initial phase of the IPL as he was injured ahead of the momentum cup Final.

South African duo of De Kock and Duminy were the first to withdraw from the IPL this year. Both of them play for Delhi Daredevils. While De Kock injured his finger during the Test series against New Zealand, Duminy cited personal reasons for giving this season a miss. Delhi relied on this duo a lot and will have to look for possible replacements as soon as possible.

As per the media speculations, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have been advised by the BCCI’s medical team to skip the first two weeks of the tournament in order to manage their workload. While Yadav plays for Kolata Knight Riders, Jadeja turns out for the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat lions. Both franchises will have to deal with this severe blow as both cricketers are crucial to the respective set-ups.

With four days still to go to the start of the tournament, the list of injured players is expected to increase further.