Ashish Nehra ruled out of remainder of IPL 2017

What’s the story?

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of IPL 2017 with a hamstring problem. The news was confirmed by Tom Moody, coach of the defending champions, a day before their eliminator game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"Ashish Nehra won't be fit for the remainder of the tournament. Yuvraj will be undergoing a fitness test this evening. We'll be giving him every opportunity to prove his fitness and at this stage, we're reasonably confident”, he was quoted as saying.

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The 38-year-old Nehra, having made a comeback to the Indian T20 side last year, had to pull out of his side’s game against the Rising Pune Supergiant earlier this month, and could not take part in the remainder of the games for the franchise. It was speculated that it was relapse of the hamstring injury he sustained last year, one which was operated upon. VVS Laxman, the mentor of the side, dismissed the claims, stating that the current injury was a new one.

The heart of the matter

Nehra managed to play just eight games for the franchise this time, picking up six wickets at an average of 23.53 and economy of 7.84. His tournament was cut short in IPL 2016 as well, when he got to play just eight games and picked up nine wickets. In his absence, the likes of Mohammad Siraj and Siddarth Kaul have chipped in, playing the role of the second and third pacer admirably. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the primary pacer in the squad, has been ruling the bowling charts, and is currently the Purple Cap holder with 25 wickets in 13 games.

What’s next?

The side also said that they were hoping that Yuvraj Singh gets fit in time to take part in the remainder of the tournament. The 35-year-old had injured his finger against the Mumbai Indians, and had to miss out the game against the Gujarat Lions due to the same. His participation in the must-win game against KKR is subject to him getting cleared in the medical test that will precede the match.

Author’s Take

Yuvraj is part of India’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, slated to start on June 1, and the Indian team management would hope that he doesn’t rush into the ICC tournament without getting fully fit. In 11 games this year, Yuvraj has scored 243 runs at a strike rate of 145, with two fifties to his credit.

As for Nehra, the injury must have been a disappointment, two years in a row, and it will be difficult for the 38-year-old to prove his fitness and make a comeback, especially because of the physical stress his body has been undergoing throughout his 18-year international career.