Poorly treated IPL injuries return to haunt Indian team during England tour

Ajit Vijaykumar 09:03 13/08/2018
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  • India captain Virat Kohli.

    Injuries are part of parcel of sport. Even the fittest players can be laid low by unexpected health issues. But it’s what players and teams do with such injuries that matters in the end. And looking at how the Indian management has handled the injuries picked up by Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha during the IPL earlier in the year, it has left a lot be desired and is really hurting them in the five-Test series in England.

    What’s common between all three injuries is the seriousness of it and the secrecy surrounding it. Kohli picked up a neck injury in the IPL while leading Royal Challengers Bangalore. He still played one more game after picking up a mysterious neck/back injury.

    The India captain was supposed to play in the county championship in order to get in the best possible shape ahead of the five-Test series in England. But that plan went put of the window with reports that Kohli consulted an orthopaedic surgeon in Mumbai who diagnosed a serious herniated disc. The BCCI only talked about a neck injury. Kohli passed a fitness test, went to England and looked in decent shape. Until the Lord’s Test where Kohli’s back acted up again and he was forced off the field on Saturday. Even when he came out to be bat in the second innings, Kohli looked in distinct discomfort.

    India are already without Bhuvneshwar and Saha who picked up a back and finger injury in the IPL. While Bhuvi’s injury was kept under wraps as he missed four IPL matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad, it turned out he was hurried back into competitive cricket as his back gave way again and he became unavailable for the Test series after a poor limited overs series against England.

    Saha’s case was even worse. What should have been a case of just a finger fracture turned into a career threatening shoulder injury that was allegedly poorly treated at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. In his absence, Dinesh Karthik has donned the keeping gloves in the Test series and has been ordinary behind the stumps and in front of it.

    All three players pushed themselves hard in the IPL and picked up injuries. The way their injuries were managed lacked clarity and showed signs of haste, which has resulted in the possibility of even greater long-term fitness issues. And if some or all of them do turn into one, you know who to blame.

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