Ashutosh Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav - (Source: AFP)
Days after a BCCI official visited CoE and held a review meeting, another Indian star player has joined the long list of injured Indian cricketers. The VVS Laxman-headed centre in Bengaluru is under a lot of pressure because the list of injured players continues to grow.
The CoE officials are already under the scanner because 13 international stars are currently rehabilitating at the centre, which is a new challenge in Indian cricket. Injuries are indeed a part and parcel of a player’s career, but longer recoveries and relapses has forced the BCCI to conduct a review and inspect the operations at CoE.
Ashutosh Sharma, the latest star to get injured
In the latest events, Delhi Capitals’ star batter Ashutosh Sharma has also injured himself and won’t be available for Hampshire’s upcoming match. For the unversed, Sharma had penned a deal with Hampshire for the ongoing County season.
Sharma picked up an injury during Hampshire’s Sunday match against Sussex. The nature of the injury is undisclosed, and he has been left out of the squad for upcoming match against Derbyshire on Friday.
“Ashutosh Sharma is unavailable due to an injury he picked up during Sunday’s match – pace bowler Harry Petrie, who featured in the opening three games of the competition, comes back in,” Hampshire said in a statement on Tuesday.
Hampshire have named Harry Petrie as Ashutosh Sharma’s replacement. The 23-year-old bowler has played 3 matches so far, taking 3 wickets.
Hampshire To Heavily Miss Ashutosh Sharma
The Delhi Capitals star had made a name for himself during the ongoing County season. Interestingly, the star player hogged headlines with the ball, while he struggled with the bat.
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Ashutosh Sharma has scored just 56 runs in 7 innings, but with the ball, he has picked up 14 wickets, which includes a five-wicket haul and a four-wicket haul. Therefore, Hampshire, who are currently placed 4th in Group B, will definitely miss Sharma’s services.
However, the bigger question at this moment is the severity of the injury.
CoE Under Scanner Again Over Players' Fitness
Ashutosh Sharma is not in India’s scheme of things, nor is he a centrally contracted player. However, his injury has shifted the focus to CoE, who are under the scanner for poor player management and rehabilitation.
Recently, CoE head VVS Laxman issued clarity over the growing list of injured Indian cricketers and stated that the CoE is without a head of sports science.
“After Nitin Patel left as Head of Sports Science, we could not zero in on anyone. We conducted an interview and identified five candidates, but unfortunately could not move to Bangalore for the full contract period. We have also zeroed in on Andrew Leipus, but he also could not move to Bangalore because of some family reasons," remarked CoE head VVS Laxman.
It is still unclear whether Ashutosh Sharma will return to India and check in at the CoE or if he will continue his rehab in the UK.
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