Kedar Jadhav injured his left shoulder while fielding in the deep during an IPL clash between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Sunday (May 5).
Jadhav then immediately left the field and it was reported that he would be out of action for at least two weeks. The news had sent a scare in the Indian camp ahead of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup.
But now, the Indian selection committee, led by MSK Prasad have been informed by Patrick Farhart, the Indian team physiotherapist, that Jadhav’s injury may not be as serious as many were believing it to be. Farhart assessed Jadhav in Chennai on Tuesday and has advised the diminutive dasher to wear a sling for at least a week.
Besides the medical team’s advice, the tournament rules also give the national selectors a window of waiting to see if Jadhav — a proven finisher and partnership-breaker — recovers for the tournament.
Changes to the preliminary squad — announced by the BCCI on April 15 — can be made till May 23. As a result, the selectors have decided to exploit it and give Jadhav ample time to recover and prove his fitness ahead of Team India’s flight to London on May 22.
If Jadhav doesn’t recover, the selectors could be in a quandary over whether to pick Ambati Rayudu as a specialist batsman or Axar Patel as an all-rounder from the five standbys shortlisted for the World Cup.
The other three standbys are wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and pacers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini.
India will start their World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5.
