Abhishek Sharma, who was the man of the moment after a scintillating 79 in the T20I series opener against England, is now a doubtful starter for the second T20I of the five-match series. Team India’s hopes hung by a thread Friday evening when the young left-hander twisted his ankle in a training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The news agency reports that the 24-year-old suffered the injury while training and was immediately attended to by the team physio. Abhishek did not play in the net session and wasn’t seen in visible discomfort. He was also limping, fuelling uncertainty over his fitness for the second match on Saturday.
India would have certainly missed Abhishek’s injury, as his whirlwind knock of 79 runs off 34 balls in the first T20I aided India in their emphatic chase of 133 runs. Laced with 5 boundaries and 8 sixes, his innings set the tone for India’s seven-wicket victory.
India has no backup opener in the squad, and it would be a dilemma if Abhishek were ruled out. Dhruv Jurel or Tilak Varma could be the men to promote to partner Sanju Samson at the top of the order.
Mohammed Shami, who sat out the first T20I, was seen bowling in the nets with a knee brace and a shortened run-up while on the bowling front. The pacer was reportedly match-fit, though India selected a spin-heavy attack in the first game with Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi fielded, and Arshdeep Singh.
The Indian management, having carried the spin trio into opener success in Pune, might choose to play it again in Chennai. But Abhishek Sharma’s possible absence could upset the team’s plan against a key encounter.
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