03 April,2017 10:00 AM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
IPL 10 is set to begin soon. However, there are already a few cricketers who are going to be missing from action due to injury. Here is the wounded soldiers line-up...
Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja
The tenth season of the Indian Premier League is set to begin soon. However, there are already a few cricketers who are going to be missing from action due to injury -- either throughout the tournament or at least for a while.
The Indian Premier League is thus fast becoming the Injured Players' League even before it's begun, given the alarming rate at which a lot of cricketers are ending up with niggles and injuries during their international commitments.
Players getting injured during a tournament is nothing new or unheard of but would be adding to the anxiety of their respective boards is the fact that the breakdowns are happening just ahead of the Champions Trophy in England in June.
At a time when cricketers don't really have an off season to look forward to, sustaining peak fitness is a huge challenge and very few are able to turn their back on the lure of IPL's fast cash and keep themselves fresh for international commitments.
Here is the wounded soldiers line-upâ¦
R ASHWIN (RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT)
Rising Pune Supergiant star Ashwin will miss the upcoming season owing to a sports hernia, as per reports. Ashwin, who underwent scans in Mumbai following the four-match Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, is likely to be ruled out for six-eight weeks.
KL RAHUL (ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)
Indian opener KL Rahul has pulled out of the IPL to get surgery on his injured shoulder. Rahul is expected to go to London soon to undergo surgery. Rahul first injured his shoulder during the Test series against England, not fully recovering while playing in the series against Australia.
MURALI VIJAY (KINGS XI PUNJAB)
India opener Murali Vijay, who had missed the Bengaluru Test against Australia owing to a shoulder injury, will also sit out the tournament. Vijay had initially injured his shoulder during the fifth Test against England at Chennai in December 2016. The BCCI has advised him to undergo a surgery (on his right wrist and left shoulder) to attain full fitness for the tough Test season ahead.
VIRAT KOHLI (ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)
RCB captain Virat Kohli will be out for few weeks due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the third Test vs Australia in Ranchi. He was the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2016 (with 973 runs in 16 games), but he will be on the sidelines for the first few matches of the tournament. Kohli's fitness will be assessed in the second week of April.
UMESH YADAV (KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS)
India pacer Umesh Yadav is injured in his right hip and also suffering from a sore back. he is likely to be sidelined for the first couple of KKR's matches and be fit and most probably available for selection for their first match at home against Kings XI Punjab on April 13.
ANGELO MATHEWS (DELHI DAREDEVILS)
Delhi Daredevils are unlikely to get the services of Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews for the better part of IPL 2017 as he is yet to recover fully from his hamstring injury. Mathews is not a part of the Sri Lankan T20 side that will host Bangladesh in a two-match T20 series starting April 4 in Colombo. Apart from hamstring injury, Mathews' return will be delayed by calf strain.
AB DE VILLIERS (ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)
Back pain saw AB de Villiers pull out of the final of the Momentum One Day Cup - South Africa's domestic 50-overs meet. De Villiers' injury was confirmed by Cricket South Africa's official website. "About to get underway in Centurion. The big team news from either team is that AB de Villiers misses out due to a back injury," Cricket South Africa announced on Twitter. The extent of De Villiers' injury is not known and it's not clear if he will miss the initial stages of IPL or not.
DWAYNE BRAVO (GUJARAT LIONS)
The West Indian all-rounder will miss the initial part of IPL 2017 due to a hamstring injury.
RAVINDRA JADEJA (GUJARAT LIONS)
The all-rounder will miss some of the games in the starting phase of the T20 tournament this year after having injured his spinning finger. He has been advised rest for at least two weeks.
MITCHELL MARSH (RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT)
The Australian all-rounder's association with IPL seems jinxed. After missing out on action last year due to an injury, the pattern is repeated this year. The Aussie suffered a shoulder injury mid-way through the Border-Gavaskar Test series. The injury will see him miss any cricketing action for nine months, which means he not only will miss IPL 10, but also Champions Trophy and the Ashes later in the year.
QUINTON DE KOCK (DELHI DAREDEVILS)
South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock's chances of participating in the upcoming Indian Premier League was thrown into abyss after he injured his finger during the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington. The 24-year-old de Kock, who has been a part of Delhi Daredevils since 2014, injured his right index finger during the second Test in Wellington that ended on March 18, with subsequent scans revealing an injury to the tendon. He will require 4-6 weeks to recover from it.
MARTIN GUPTILL (KINGS XI PUNJAB)
The Kiwi opener will miss start of the tenth season to strengthen his hamstrings in order to be fit for the Champions Trophy in June. He though is staying with the team.
