Team India received a massive blow on the eve of their second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch as veteran pacer Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the match after a recurrence of his right ankle injury. Ishant Sharma’s absence is indeed a massive blow for the Indian national cricket team who are finding ways to level the series after getting battered at the hands of New Zealand in the first Test.
It is worth mentioning here that Ishant Sharma was the best bowler for India in the opening Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington as he bagged 5/68 to his name. The experienced campaigner marked his presence in the practice session and managed to bowl for a while two days out from the first Test on Thursday (February 27). But, he made himself unavailable for a training session on the eve of the fixture.
Sources in the know of developments added that Ishant informed the team management of pain in the same ankle after bowling for over 20 minutes in the training session on Thursday and after which, he was sent for medical tests on Friday (February 28). The detailed results of his condition are still awaited.
Umesh Yadav likely to replace Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is likely to be replaced by Umesh Yadav in the playing XI according to Cricbuzz. India’s chief coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun were spotted having a chat with Umesh Yadav on the sidelines of the practice session.
It should be noted that Ishant Sharma had incidentally returned to cricketing action after a month-long injury lay-off due to the ankle injury he had sustained in January. It appears that the pacer will be ruled out of the match as the Indian team management don’t want to take the risk of playing him.
Umesh Yadav has never played a Test in New Zealand. He last appeared in an away Test match at the Perth Stadium in December 2018. Umesh had a successful home summer, where he replaced the injured Bumrah for South Africa Tests. Umesh turned out to be a big weapon for India as he picked 23 wickets at 13.65 in 4 Tests. However, his away record is not as decent as his home record. He picked 46 wickets at 42.19 in 17 Tests (away).