It's a day Murali Kartik would love to forget in a hurry. No more than an hour after being picked in the Indian side for the first two Tests against South Africa, the left-arm spinner received the dispiriting news that a ligament tear in his left ankle would keep him away from cricket for at least three weeks.
One of the unluckiest cricketers to have played for India -- the vagaries of selection as well as untimely injuries have combined to keep him out for long spells -- Kartik suffered a freak injury a little after the selection committee meeting got under way at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Monday afternoon. He didn’t need to say “I feel miserable” to express his sentiments.
Playing for Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy tie against North, Kartik tried to chase down a straight drive by Virender Sehwag off Piyush Chawla, ironically the man who subsequently replaced him in the Test squad. The 31-year-old stepped on the boundary rope and badly twisted his left ankle, and was carried off the field by physio Vaibhav Daga and a reserve player.
In visible pain, he was taken to HOSMAT Hospital, where an MRI scan confirmed his worst fears. Dr Chetan Rai, an orthopedic at the HOSMAT Hospital, said: “Murali Kartik has suffered a complete ligament tear in his left ankle. It is a Grade III injury and it will take minimum three weeks to heal. He will have to be out of action during that duration. After the three weeks, he will have to be re-assessed and only then can a final date of recovery be decided. An injury like this can take anywhere between three weeks and one and a half months to heal, it all depends on how the tear heals and how fast he can recover.”
A surprise omission from the one-day squad that triumphed in Australia, the earliest Kartik can hope to make a comeback is during the Indian Premier League, though it is unlikely that he will be available for at least the early stages of the competition in which he will be representing the Knight Riders from Kolkata.
