Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Set To Miss Australia Tour: Report

Team India could suffer a big injury blow even before the start of their Test series in Australia with their pace spearhead Ishant Sharma looking well set to miss the tour. The senior pacer is currently sidelined with an injury he had sustained in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

He had suffered an abdominal muscle tear while training in the Delhi Capitals camp and was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2020. Ishant Sharma had played just one match in the IPL season before the setback. The pacer is now doubtful for the tour of Australia towards the end of the year.

According to a report in The Times of India, the India star is running against time to get selected for the tour of Australia. The news outlet has reported that Ishant Sharma has finally travelled to National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru from Dubai five days ago after sustaining the injury.

“It’s highly unlikely Ishant will be fit in time for the tour. He was happy that former India physio Patrick Farhart was looking after him at Capitals in Dubai. But since he is a BCCI-contracted player, he had to go to NCA,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

The report further stated that pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar too is in doubt for the tour. Earlier this month, the SunRisers Hyderabad pacer was also ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2020 after suffering a thigh injury during the clash against Chennai Super Kings.

Missing Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar for the Australia tour will be a big blow for Team India. Ishant Sharma had picked up 11 wickets from three matches at an average of 23.82 when India claimed a historic Test series win in Australia in 2018-19.

He was expected to lead the pace attack in the upcoming Test series. Bhuvneshwar, on the other hand, was expected to play a similar role in the limited-overs series. Team India is set to leave for Australia next month soon after the IPL ends on November 10.

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