Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, and Jasprit Bumrah all missed the final game of the tour due to respective injuries
Our Bureau
Brisbane
India batsman and third Test hero Hanuma Vihari, who was ruled out of the series decider after suffering a Grade 2 tear on his hamstring, left Australian shores on Friday. Vihari, who was going through a lean patch in the ongoing Test series against Australia, went on to show grit and fight as he batted for 161 balls and combined with Ashwin for 2.5 hours to deny Australia a win in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The right-handed batsman on Friday shared a picture before departing from Australia. In the picture, Vihari can be seen smiling while sporting a T-shirt and green cap. “Until next time Australia,” Vihari tweeted.
After the conclusion of the third Test, it was revealed that he batted with a Grade 2 tear to script the Sydney draw.
For the fourth Test, India made four changes to their side. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Vihari, and Jasprit Bumrah all missed the final game of the tour due to respective injuries. The four players were replaced by Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, Mayank Agarwal, and Washington Sundar. Tamil Nadu duo of spinner Sundar and pacer Natarajan made their Test debuts.
India’s injury woes have compounded with each passing day and the latest in the list was Bumrah as the fast bowler had an abdominal strain. “Lot of problems is there in front of the Indian side. More than half of the team is injured, top players are injured, and the absence of big players will definitely be there. As of now, it looks very tough for them to form even a playing 11. In the case of injuries, reserve players will get the chance,” said Madan Lal, the former coach and Test player.
Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja on Tuesday said that he has undergone surgery after suffering a blow on his thumb during the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). “Out of action for a while, surgery completed. But will soon return with a bang,” Jadeja tweeted. On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that Jadeja would not be taking part in the fourth Test against Australia, set to be played at the Gabba, beginning January 15.
Jadeja had suffered a blow to his left thumb while batting on day 3 of the third Border-Gavaskar Test that concluded on Monday. He later went for scans and the results showed that he had dislocated his thumb.
The BCCI had confirmed that the all-rounder will be consulting a hand specialist in Sydney before he returns to India. He will then head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further management of his injury.
Earlier, India pacer Mohammad Shami was ruled out of the series after suffering a fracture on his arm. He retired hurt while batting in the second innings at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday after he was hit on the right arm by a bouncer from Pat Cummins. Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said that the terrible pain was a result of the fracture he has sustained. “Yes, he has a fracture and that is why he could not grip the bat and lift it at the crease. It looked bad and the worst fear has come true,” the source said.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood had said that the visitors would find it hard to have a replacement for the “class-bowler” if he was indeed unavailable for the remainder of the series. “It is obviously a blow, we gonna see how bad it was. He will undergo scans to see if there is any fracture or bruising. We wanna find out how much damage is done,” Hazlewood had said during the virtual post-match press conference.
“He is a class-bowler and he showed this in the game. So, India might have to dig deeper in their arsenal to try and cover and him but we probably expect him to play, I am not sure how bad the injury is,” he added.
