Ishant Sharma injured in Ranji match; could miss all South Africa Tests

Ishant pulled a hamstring during the Ranji trophy match against Haryana

In what could be a big blow for the Indian cricket team, pace bowler Ishant Sharma has suffered a hamstring injury, during the ongoing Delhi’s Ranji trophy match against Haryana, reports NDTV Sports. The lanky pacer bowled 6 overs on day two and was reportedly absent from the field on day three.

A member of Delhi team management confirmed that Ishant had indeed pulled his hamstring. This could turn out to be a big loss for the Indian team, as the Delhi pacer would be a vital cog in the bowling line-up, in the upcoming test series against South Africa.

Delhi’s bowling sans Ishant did lack sharpness on the field as Haryana scored freely in their second innings despite conceding a marginal first-innings lead. However, Manan Sharma stood up for the team in the absence of Ishant, and picked up crucial wickets.

The seriousness of Ishant’s injury was not known immediately yet, but the worrying part for Ishant and India would be the fact that a hamstring injury usually takes anything between two to six weeks for complete recovery. As the Indian test team for the South Africa series is going to be announced soon, Ishant, who will anyway be missing the first Test due to the ICC ban, will be in a race against time, to recover soon and get back to the scheme of things for India again.

Ishant Sharma impressed one and all with his performance in the recent tour against Sri Lanka, where he picked up 13 wickets in the three-match series and played a vital role in India winning the series.

Ishant is also currently the senior-most bowler in the squad, and is slowly learning to shoulder the burden of the Indian bowling line-up, after the retirement of Zaheer Khan. Against a formidable Proteas batting line-up, Ishant could be the X-factor in the team, and his recovery will be keenly monitored by the team.