Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017/18: Gambhir Ruled Out Of League Stage, Ishant To Have Delayed Arrival

Delhi opener, Gautam Gambhir, has been ruled out of the league phase of Vijay Hazare Trophy due to an ankle injury while skipper, Ishant Sharma, has asked for rest of few days and he will only be available for the team after first two games, as a report in The Hindu.

Gambhir has suffered an ankle injury and he has been asked to take a rest of 10 days. He has been replaced by the middle-order batsman, Milind Kumar, who was one of the five standby players announced by the board.

Gambhir’s exclusion has though opened the doors for Unmukt Chand and Hiten Dalal, one of whom will open the innings with Rishabh Pant. Unmukt, recently, made his comeback to the side for the Super League of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and played a match-winning inning of 53 to help Delhi win the tournament for the first time.

On the other hand, Hiten is coming with a good form behind his back in junior cricket. He was the highest run-scorer for the state in the CK Nayudu Trophy and recently scored 162 runs in a one-day game against Himachal Pradesh. If Rishabh bats in the middle-order, then both of them can also open the innings.

Coming to Ishant, he has himself asked for a rest of few days and will join the team after first two games. He returned from South Africa on Tuesday and will make a comeback to lead the team in last four league stage games.

In his absence, Pradeep Sangwan will lead the team. He recently led the side to triumph in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was appointed as Ishant’s deputy when the senior player made his comeback to the side. Shivam Sharma will join the team in Ishant’s absence.

Delhi will play its first game against Uttar Pradesh on February 5. They will then face Tripura, Maharashtra, Bengal, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh in remaining games.

Updated Squad: Pradeep Sangwan (Captain, first two games), Rishabh Pant, Hiten Dalal, Milind Kumar, Dhruv Shorey, Unmukt Chand, Nitish Rana, Lalit Yadav, Pawan Negi, Lalit Yadav, Subodh Bhati, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kshitiz Sharma, Manan Sharma, Shivam Sharma.

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