Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will not feature in the much-awaited Ranji Trophy quarter-final game for his domestic side Tamil Nadu against Karnataka after suffering from a condition being known as ‘Athletic pubalgia’.
“Ashwin informed me on Tuesday that he was suffering from a sports hernia. He also said he would not be available for the match,” said Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary K.S Viswanathan.
While playing at the home ground, the 30-year-old Ashwin claimed only wicket of Ben Stokes in the entire Test match which also made it his lowest ever tally in Tests played in home conditions.
On December 17, Ashwin was named in Tamil Nadu’s 16-member squad alongside opening batsman Murali Vijay.
Vijay’s participation is also doubtful after injuring his shoulder in the fifth and final Test match against England at Chepauk Stadium, Chennai.
“After the scan results are out, we will know about Vijay’s availability. He may have to take cortisone injections for pain relief,” Viswanathan added on Vijay, who batted lower down the order for the national side.
Karnataka have included Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul and Manish Pandey in the 16-member squad after sidelining Robin Uthappa.
The quarter-final clash between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is scheduled for December 23 at Visakhapatnam.
Both teams met last time in 2014-15 Ranji Trophy grand finale at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where Karnataka got the better of Tamil Nadu and retained the coveted trophy by an innings and 217 runs.