There were more troubles for the touring Indian team on the third day of the Adelaide Test when they were bowled out for their lowest-ever total in Test cricket. Other than the carnage they had to swallow at the hands of Australian bowlers, Indians were struck dearly when one of their premier pacers, Mohammed Shami was hit on his right wrist while batting. Shami looked in severe pain and at the end of the match, captain Virat Kohli had said that he could not even lift his hand due to pain.
The right-arm pacer was taken to the hospital for a scan and as per a report by news agency ANI, Shami has suffered a fracture on his wrist and subsequently, has been ruled out of the remainder of the series. The injury to Shami will be a huge blow to the Indian team which is already without their first-choice players in Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma while Kohli will be returning home and won't take part further in the series.
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar, who is in Australia to call on the game for the host broadcaster Channel 7, said that in absence of Shami and Ishant, Indian bowling department looks toothless and they won’t be able to challenge the Australian batting line up over the next three tests.
Fearing the worst for the Indian team, Gavaskar has suggested that Ishant should be sent to Australia on the next flight if he is fit enough to bowl 20 overs in a day.
“If Ishant Sharma is fit, I am suggesting to send him to Australia now. If he is capable of bowling 20 overs in a day, the management should send him to Australia on tomorrow’s flight so that he can be ready for the Sydney Test,” Gavaskar said.
He urged the Indian selectors and the BCCI to address the issue as quickly as possible in order to make Ishant available to play in the Sydney Test, scheduled to start on January 07, as there are no quality pacers in Australia to make up for the absence of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. He pointed out that although one of the backup seamers - Navdeep Saini - has the potential to succeed at the international level, he is not in good enough rhythm to make an impact against Australia based on his bowling in the tour game against Australia A.
“I am saying India should look at taking a chance because there is no proper back-up now. Navdeep Saini has the potential to pick wickets but the way he bowled in the warm-up matches, it doesn’t look like he will be able to trouble the Australia batsmen,” Gavaskar added.
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