Reports: Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of remainder of Test series against Australia

Team India’s injury crisis has further deepened with their star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja out of the remainder of the ongoing Test series against Australia. Jadeja is set to be sidelined after sustaining a left thumb dislocation and fracture. He suffered the blow on Saturday while batting against Mitchell Starc in the ongoing third Test.

Jadeja coped with the nasty blow on his left thumb when he got into an awkward position while facing a short delivery from Starc. The physio rushed to his aid and applied a bandage on the affected area. Jadeja continued batting but did not come out to the field during Australia’s second innings. Later, BCCI announced that the player had been taken for scans to determine the extent of the injury.

And while the board is yet to release an official statement on the injury, recent reports on the same are not encouraging. As per TOI, Jadeja is unlikely to take further part in the remainder of the four-match series. An unnamed BCCI official told the news outlet that the all-rounder is set to be sidelined after suffering dislocation and fracture.

“Ravindra Jadeja has suffered a dislocation and fracture on his left thumb. It will be very difficult for him to wear those gloves and bat. In any case, he will be out of action for at least two to three weeks which rules him out of the final Test,” the senior BCCI official said.

India’s injury woes

Losing Ravindra Jadeja will be a huge blow for Team India who has already lost the services of several key players due to injuries. Jadeja has been in stunning form with the bat in the ongoing tour. After impressing in the T20Is and ODIs, he hit the ground running in Tests. The southpaw missed the first Test with an injury before returning to action in the second Test.

He scored a crucial fifty in that game, helping India to clinch a series-levelling win. Jadeja has made his mark in the ongoing game too. With 4 wickets in the first innings, he was India’s highest wicket-taker. He also affected Steve Smith’s run-out with a brilliant piece of fielding before scoring an unbeaten 28 with the bat.

Earlier, India lost three players due to injuries during the course of the series. Mohammed Shami was the first to be ruled out with a fractured forearm before Umesh Yadav and KL Rahul followed suit. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma could not travel to Australia because of injuries too. Skipper Virat Kohli is also unavailable since the completion of the first Test because of paternity leave.