What’s the story?
West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is likely to miss the start of the 2017 Indian Premier League as he has not yet completely recovered from the hamstring injury which he suffered during the Big Bash League, while playing for the Melbourne Renegades.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Keshav Bansal, the owner of the Gujarat Lions, the franchise Bravo plays for in the League, said that they were expecting the all-rounder to join the squad during the first week of April and added that he may be unavailable for the initial few games.
“Dwayne Bravo was suffering from hamstring injury from past few months. We are expecting him to join us in India in 1st week of April. He may miss the initial couple of matches," he told Cricbuzz.
In case you didn’t know...
While playing for the Renegades in a BBL game against the Perch Scorchers, Bravo made a desperate dive to cut off a shot from the bat of Michael Klinger and then held his hamstring in pain.
Scans later revealed that the cricketer had sustained a serious injury and had to undergo a surgery, which ruled him out of the remainder of the competition.
The heart of the matter
Bansal added that if the West Indian did recover fully in the upcoming few days then one could see him play in the second half of the season. His absence could mean that the likes of James Faulkner, Dhawal Kulkarni and others will need to step up their game both at the start and at the end of the innings and it will be interesting to see how the Lions cope up with Bravo’s loss.
He was one of their key performers in last year’s edition, where, in 15 matches, he took 17 wickets.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: Delhi Daredevils' Quinton de Kock ruled out of the tournament
What’s next?
The Lions will hope that Bravo recovers quickly and is fit to play for them as soon as possible. He is an integral member for whichever team that he plays for and the composition of the Lions outfit could undergo a change in his absence.
Author’s take
Bravo’s ouster from the early part of the IPL only adds him to a list of cricketers who will already be missing in action. Quintin de Kock on Friday was ruled out of the League and Kevin Pietersen also withdrew himself a couple of months ago.
Hopefully, there are no more additions to the list of stars who will miss out on the action in the 10th edition of the League.
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