IPL INJURY UPDATE

Rahul, Ashwin ruled out of IPL 2017; Rohit declared fit

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

RCB coach Daniel Vettori confirmed that KL Rahul would be travelling for a surgery on his troubled left shoulder © BCCI

KL Rahul and Ravichandran Ashwin were ruled out of the Indian Premier League 2017 on Saturday (April 1), while Murali Vijay's participation still remained under the cloud. The good news, however, comes for Mumbai Indians with Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya being declared fit to play in the tenth edition of the tournament.

The medical team of BCCI released an update on the fitness and availability of several star players who were under the injury cloud, while RCB coach Daniel Vettori confirmed the unavailability of Rahul.

"Owing to a shoulder injury, KL Rahul will be travelling for his treatment and thus will be unavailable to play as a part of the RCB squad this VIVO IPL. His absence will be definitely felt by the team but both Kedar Jadhav and AB de Villiers are accomplished wicket keepers and we would look at one of them to take up the charge," Vettori said. "We wish KL Rahul a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon," he added.

Rahul, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore, sustained a blow to his left shoulder in the first Test of the four-match series against Australia but continued to be a part throughout the series. He finished as India's second-best run-getter with 393 runs, behind Cheteshwar Pujara (405). The in-form wicketkeeper-batsman's absence comes as the second major blow to RCB's batting line-up, with skipper Virat Kohli already on the injury bench.

Meanwhile Ashwin, who also reportedly played the recently-concluded series despite sports hernia, has been advised 6-8 weeks of rehabilitation by the BCCI medical staff, due to which he will be out of action for the entire season.

KXIP former skipper Vijay, on the other hand, requires surgery on his right wrist and will also undergo rehabilitation for his left shoulder, which could effectively rule him out of the entire season as well.

Kohli, who sustained a shoulder injury in Ranchi Test against Australia and subsequently sat out of the series decider in Dharamsala, will be assessed in the second week of April after undergoing rehabilitation, and a call on his return to play will be taken then, the Indian board confirmed.

Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav have both been advised two weeks of rest to recuperate from respective ailments. While Jadeja is facing issues with the spinning finger, Umesh has right hip and lower back soreness, and the duo will miss the first two matches for their respective franchises.

The tenth edition of the tournament begins on April 5 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB, with AB de Villiers confirmed to lead the Bangalore-based side in Kohli's absence. However, RCB will be sweating over his fitness as the South African pulled out of the Momentum One Day Cup final due to a back niggle.

© Cricbuzz

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