Birmingham: If the defeat against England was not hard enough to take, India were rocked with the news that allrounder Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a toe injury.
The 28-year-old suffered what Virat Kohli described as a ‘toe niggle’ ahead of India’s loss against England at Edgbaston, and that has now been confirmed as a ‘non-displaced fracture’ of the left big toe, which will require a minimum of three weeks to heal.
The news comes as another blow to India, who have drafted in opener Mayank Agarwal as Shankar’s replacement after approval from the ICC, with Shikhar Dhawan already out of the tournament after a thumb injury that he sustained against Australia.
On Monday morning, the BCCI sent out a statement saying Vijay would need three weeks to recover.
“Vijay was struck on the left big toe whilst batting in the nets on June 19 in Southampton. He was able to play in an unrestricted manner in the following two matches against Afghanistan and West Indies. Following the match on June 27, the condition of his toe worsened and a CT scan showed he sustained a non-displaced fracture of the left big toe. The condition will require a minimum of three weeks to heal. The injury rules him out of the ongoing World Cup,” the statement said.
The development is in contrast to what was initially believed. After the side’s practice session on Thursday, Bumrah had assured that Vijay was fine, but the BCCI’s statement reveals that the all-rounder will be out of action.
Mayank to fly in on Tuesday
Mayank Agarwal’s selection, meanwhile, might come as a surprise to many. Firstly, because he was not even part of the five-man list of standbys announced when the World Cup 15 was announced. Along with Pant, the only other batsman who was part of that was Ambati Rayudu.
Also, Agarwal has never played for India in limited overs cricket.
However, the selectors were impressed by Agarwal’s batting during the IPL, where he played in the middle-order for Kings XI Punjab and often managed to create an impact immediately. He was the third-highest run-getter for Kings XI and scored his 332 runs at a strike rate of 141.88.
Agarwal’s selection could also mean that the Indian team management wanted a back-up opener after KL Rahul, who was asked to open the innings after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out with a thumb injury. Agarwal, 28, made his Test debut against Australia last year but is yet to play in the ODI format.
