Even as Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey hit the ‘nets’ on a sultry Monday afternoon at the Cricket Club of India facilities here, there was some good news for Yuvraj Singh fans.
The Punjab batsman had undergone an MRI scan for a twisted left ankle on Monday upon his arrival from Chandigarh and the results have confirmed that there is no fracture or ligament tear. India, however, will wait for a final word on whether the southpaw will be available for Thursday’s World T20 semifinal against West Indies.
Team physio Patrick Farhart took the report for interpretation to the doctor and it’s learnt that India will wait until their practice session on Wednesday afternoon before they take a final call on Yuvraj’s availability.
Yuvraj’s cover Pandey and Rahane arrived at the CCI along with Sanjay Bangar, the assistant coach (batting), and Raghavendra, the throwdown specialist, and had a long batting stint against the pair besides facing half a dozen net bowlers provided by the Mumbai Cricket Association.
If Yuvraj is rendered unavailable for the match, Pandey and Rahane will be in contention to take his spot in the playing 11. It will be a tough call to make as MS Dhoni doesn’t trust Rahane’s abilities at number four while he can’t shake up the top-order in a crucial tie. While Pandey has a century to his credit in the last ODI he played for India, preferring him ahead of Rahane may raise a stink in some circles.
Fletcher replaced
Meanwhile, the technical committee of the event has approved Lendl Simmons as a replacement for injured opener Andre Fletcher.
Fletcher pulled a right hamstring during the match against Afghanistan in Nagpur on Sunday and has been ruled out of further participation in the tournament.
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