Asia Cup 2018: India jolted by massive blows ahead of Super 4 stage

India have made an incredible start to their campaign in the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After an almighty scare from Hong Kong, the Men in Blue eventually prevailed and brushed aside Anshuman Rath and Co by 26 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In the second match, Rohit Sharma and Co thumped arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets at the same venue.

They shot their arch-rivals our for 162 runs after which Rohit Sharma’s quick-fire half-century helped India chase down the target with 21 overs to spare. Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu and Shikhar Dhawan contributed their bit as well. In the meantime, it has been learned that Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel have been ruled out the multi-nation tournament as per reports in ABP News.

Replacements announced

While Shardul has developed a groin injury, Axar has injured his thumb. Siddarth Kaul and Ravindra Jadeja have been named as their replacements. Shardul had a horrendous outing in the first match in Dubai as he finished with figures of 4-0-41-0. He was taken apart by the openers- Rath and Nizakat Khan. Moreover, the speedster also bowled a number of no-balls and never looked in rhythm.

Patel had an impressive record in his maiden county stint for Durham and was subsequently included for the Asia Cup. Unfortunately, luck hasn’t favoured him and he will have to wait a little longer for making a comeback in India’s playing eleven. Apart from Shardul and Bumrah, yesterday, Hardik Pandya, the Indian all-round cricketer, suffered an acute lower back injury.

He collapsed on the ground in his run-up after which he was taken off the park in a stretcher. Subsequently, he has been ruled out of the ongoing tournament. Deepak Chahar, who made his debut in the T20I series against England, has been roped in as his replacement. India are next scheduled to play Bangladesh tomorrow in their first match of the Super 4 stage in Dubai itself.

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