Last Updated:
Abhishek Sharma twisted his ankle in Chepauk and is now doubtful for tomorrow’s match against England.
Abhishek Sharma is doubtful for the 2nd T20I vs England.
Indian left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma twisted his ankle during warmups and didn’t bat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk on Friday. He’s now doubtful to start in the second T20I against England here on Saturday evening.
According to the Indian Express, Abhishek was seen in pain after the incident and had to be tended to by the physio. The report said he walked to the nearby MAC B Stadium but didn’t come out to bat and was seen limping at the nets.
It could be a big blow to India’s hopes to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Abhishek was the team’s highest run-scorer in the first T20I at Eden Gardens.
He started slowly but covered up ground as the overs progressed, ending with a 79 (34), including five boundaries and eight sixes. Although he got out playing a poor shot against Rashid Khan, India won the match by seven wickets.
Now, if he has to be sidelined from the match, India will need to find a makeshift replacement. The team doesn’t have a third opener in the team and getting one in hours before the match would be difficult.
Only Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel are specialist-level batters among the four substitutes of the first T20I. India can try the ambitious move by getting Sundar to open because he’s a left-hander and will add an extra bowling option at his home ground, while giving Jurel the job for one match is a safer choice.
Jurel usually bats in the middle-order so, one of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav opening the innings to fit him in can’t be ruled out either.
Mohammed Shami fit to play, didn’t feature at Eden due to team combination
According to the aforementioned report, Mohammed Shami didn’t miss out a much-anticipated comeback at the Eden Gardens due to fitness issues. Instead, the team management wanted to keep only one specialist pacer in Arshdeep Singh and play three all-rounders — Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Nitish Reddy.
The move worked in India’s favor and the combination is likely to remain the same in the second match, too. Shami, thus, might have to hope India seal the series 3-0 by the third game to get some match practice in the final two T20Is.
