In a major development ahead of India's World Cup 2023 game against New Zealand, the star batter Suryakumar Yadav suffered a minor hand injury during the training session in Dharamsala on Saturday, October 20. Suryakumar was reportedly hit on his right forearm during a throwdown session while Ishan Kishan was bitten by a honey bee while batting in the nets.
India will be without their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the New Zealand game and both Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan are in contention to replace him. But now the management is dealing with two fresh injury blows and is yet to provide any official updates on the players' availability. The PTI reports that Suryakumar was hit on his forearm by the team's throwdown specialist Raghu but the player was cooled down quickly with ice packs.
Meanwhile, Ishan was bitten by a honey bee on the back of his neck while batting in the nets but the youngster managed to thwart off any serious issue. He batted for a considerable time before the bite and is expected to make a swift recovery before the game against New Zealand.
Both Suryakumar and Ishan are now doubtful for the New Zealand game and that limits India's batting options to replace Hardik. Spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin and experienced pacer Mohammed Shami also remain in contention if India go with an extra bowling specialist.
India World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (ruled out due to injury)
New Zealand World Cup squad: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips (wk), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, James Neesham, Kane Williamson (ruled out due to injury)
More to follow...
(Inputs from PTI)
