Injury forces John Hastings out of West Indies series

Australian fast bowler John Hastings has been ruled out of the upcoming one-day tri-series in the West Indies due to an ankle injury. He injured his left ankle during warm-up ahead of the Knight Rider’s match against the Mumbai Indians on 13 April.

In his first match for KKR against the Delhi Daredevils, the fast bowler finished with excellent bowling figures of 2-6, which included a maiden over.

Hastings flew back to Australia immediately after the match against MI for his treatment and underwent surgery on the injured ankle. Scott Boland, who made his ODI debut against India in January this year, has been called up as a replacement.

"John experienced pain in his left ankle during his recent stint in the IPL and had scans upon returning home which have confirmed early stage bone stress of his fibula bone near his ankle. While laid off with this injury we have taken this opportunity to undertake arthrosporic surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle which have been causing him concern for some time and were possibility contributing to the cause of the bone stress.”

“He had this surgery over the weekend and now requires a period of rest to resolve the bone stress and recover from surgery before he will resume bowling,” Cricket Australia's sports science and sports medicine manager, Alex Kountouris, said in an interview with ESPN.

Hastings had made his comeback into the team in the summer of 2015-16 after being out for 4 years due to multiple shoulder injuries coupled with poor form. Since his return, he had played 9 ODI’s and took 16 wickets with an economy of 5.07, which included one 4-wicket haul.

The 30-year-old was the leading wicket-taker from either side during India’s visit to Australia in the summer, taking 10 wickets in four matches with an economy of 5.65 and the best bowling figures of 4/58.