Kings XI Punjab seamer Sandeep Sharma, Daniel Vettori of the Northern Knights from New Zealand and the Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma are among the latest players who will not feature in the current edition of the Champions League T20. Being key players for their respective sides, their absence will definitely influence the course of events to follow in the weeks to come.
Rohit Sharma has been diagnosed with a shoulder problem in addition to the fracture to his finger that he sustained during India’s tour to England. After a recent visit to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, the physiotherapists ruled Rohit out for at least another four weeks. It remains to be seen if he will be fit in time for India’s series against West Indies which starts with the first ODI on October 8 in Kochi. Rohit’s unavailability means Mumbai Indians will be forced to select a new captain for the CLT20. “Rohit will not be playing this tournament. We will finalize the new captain in the next 24 hours,” said coach John Wright after the team’s arrival in Raipur. MI fans are curious to see who their new leader will be now.
The absence of the ever-so-impressive Sandeep Sharma leaves a huge crack in the bowling armory of the Indian franchise.”Sandeep Sharma is one of the players who will be absent in the CLT20 due to an injury,” said Kings XI’s chief operations officer Fraser Castellino. “Otherwise, all the other players are fit and available. Our coaching staff is keeping a tab on the fitness and availability of the players.”
Veteran spinner Daniel Vettori will also miss out due to family health issues. In a statement, Vettori said: “I really love playing for ND and to do so on a world stage would have been a real highlight.” The Northern Knights are already without all-rounder Corey Anderson, who chose to represent his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians in the tournament.
The truancy of these key players leaves scope for possible replacements and calls for a change in strategy for the respective franchise managements. Once again, it leaves questions unanswered regarding the hectic schedule imposed on the modern day cricketer and that this has caused a toll on players and hampered their availability for high profile tournaments.
