India will breathe a little easy after scans revealed that all-rounder Vijay Shankar has not suffered a fracture following an injury blow he picked up during the team’s practice session on Friday.
The 28-year-old was struck on his right forearm by a Khaleel Ahmed bouncer while batting in the nets on Friday. Following the incident, Shankar immediately left the training session to return to the dressing room before being sent for scans on his arm.
The all-rounder sat out India’s first official World Cup 2019 warm-up game on Saturday against New Zealand at the Oval with KL Rahul taking the No4 spot in the batting order instead.
Now, the BCCI has confirmed that there is not fracture in Shankar’s arm although the player will continue to be assessed by the team’s medical staff over the course of the next few days.
UPDATE - Vijay Shankar was hit on his right forearm during practice on Friday. He underwent scans and no fracture has been detected. BCCI Medical Team is aiding him in his recovery pic.twitter.com/47ufzHtLX7
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 25, 2019
This will come as good news for India just days before the start of the 2019 World Cup given that Kedar Jadhav is also currently nursing a shoulder injury he picked up during the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
Shankar is expected to be one of the leading contenders for the No4 spot in India’s batting order after being picked in the 15-man squad over the likes of Rishabh Pant. The all-rounder’s ability to bowl medium pace could also be handy option in English conditions and skipper Virat Kohli will want to have him fit and firing as soon as possible.
