http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 lose Sreesanth for Test series against Sri Lanka
It is already turning out to be a difficult tour of Sri Lanka for India. And not a single delivery has been faced or bowled by the players!
First, Zaheer Khan, India’s best pace bowler in the current set-up and by a distance at that, was ruled out of the series. He was suffering from a shoulder injury and despite being named in the squad, he had to back out. Zaheer Khan has had trouble with his shoulder for some time in the last couple of years and it looks like it has been hurt once again.
The Indian squad had had three pace bowlers named including Zaheer Khan, and with this injury, the side decided to get in Abhimanyu Mithun into the squad. The silver lining in the whole affair was that despite being two experienced bowlers, both, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/S-Sreesanth-c2398 and Ishant Sharma, who were the second and the third pace bowlers in the squad were returning backing from injuries.
This injury to Zaheer Khan meant that both would have been able to play in the first Test and bowl in tandem.
Now, India has been jolted by another fitness woe, and it is in the form of Sreesanth having to miss out the series due to a knee injury. According to the doctors, he is said to have got a medial collateral ligament tear on his left knee and that means that he will need to return back to India without playing a single game. This also opens the door for Munaf Patel to make a comeback into the side, who has also not played international cricket for eight months now.
Earlier, it had become evident that Sreesanth may not be able to make it to the playing eleven of the side for the first tour game against the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI. However, the bad news about his unavailability was only confirmed today. Sreesanth has had a long lay-off from international cricket due to injuries and earlier this year had made a comeback to the side in a home series against Sri Lanka. He had a five-wicket haul going for him.
India’s other problem could be with their ace spinner, Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan also missed out on the first practice session due to a viral fever and one is not sure whether he will be available for the first Test match between India and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 that starts in Galle from the 18th of July.
India had earlier got in two India A bowlers into the side, to help them with their preparations: Umesh Yadav and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Knight-c71599 Riders and then for the India A side in England.
This injury to Sreesanth now means that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 when India had had to undergo similar fitness woes in their bowling department.
If Harbhajan Singh is fit to play by then, he will be an automatic choice in the side, but it remains to be seen whether Pragyan Ojha or Amit Mishra gets a nod into the side.
Ojha has usually been captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028’s favourite, whereas Mishra is a leg-spinner who can bat much better than Ojha.
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