IPL 2018: Will Mumbai Indians risk playing Hardik vs SRH post ankle injury vs CSK?
Pandya suffered injury during the game against CSK at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7.
Hyderabad: The 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is up and running and has so far seen some close matches, including a rain-curtailed Rajasthan Royals versus Dellhi Daredevils’ encounter on Wednesday.
The fans have been not only thoroughly entertained; the tournament has also seen some top players suffering injuries right at the start. While DD lost the services of Kagiso Rabada before the IPL kicked off, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have to do without Kedar Jadhav in IPL 2018 after he pulled a hamstring during the IPL opener between CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI).
MI too have their set of injury woes as their overseas recruit, Australian pacer, Pat Cummins was ruled out of IPL due to back issue. If Cummins blow was not enough, the Mumbai Indians are sweating over all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s fitness for the game against Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Pandya collided with Dwayne Bravo, before falling flat on back, during the game against CSK at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7.
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Will Mumbai risk playing Pandya?
The Baroda cricketer suffered ankle injury during the opening game against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede last Saturday. The freak injury happened on the final delivery of the MI innings bowled by Dwayne Bravo. Pandya wanted to go for a second run but twisted his ankle.
In spite of pain, Pandya went ahead and bowled his full quota of 4 overs and picked up three wickets without leaking too many runs. After bowling he did not take the field and watched from the sidelines as Bravo played a blinder of an innings to take CSK across the finish line.
Speaking about Pandya’s injury on the sidelines of an event on Monday, MI skipper Rohit Sharma had said "He's looking good for now. He twisted his ankle but he came (back on the field) and bowled four overs. We still have three days (for the next match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 12). I think he will be fine."
The 24-year-old is a vital cog in the MI line-up and an injury early in the tournament is a setback for Rohit’s team, who have lost their opening match.