India suffer another scare as Kaarthick injures right thumb

The practice pitches at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium have been less than exemplary, even when teams have practised later in the day. India’s early session meant there was some dampness on the surface, and Kaarthick was rapped painfully on his right thumb, not unlike Thursday evening when he was pinged on the same finger by a local net bowler.

While the opening batsman didn’t go for an x-ray, it is learnt that at this stage, the injury is bad enough for him not to be able to grip the bat properly. He hasn’t been ruled out of India’s next match, against Sri Lanka on Monday, a final call to be made after practice on Sunday afternoon.

The circumstances under which Kaarthick sustained the blow didn’t amuse the Indian camp any, skipper Dhoni making his displeasure at the facilities all too obvious.
Dhoni was batting at the adjacent nets when Kaarthick received the blow, and immediately left the nets, clearly complaining.

The two ’keeper-batsmen then left for the hotel in a car, after Kaarthick was administered first-aid and had his finger iced by two doctors at the ground. It’s worth mentioning that the captain himself has been carrying a finger injury for a while now.

The Indian think-tank complained to the curator about the facilities, but Anuruddha Polonowita, however, would have none of it. “Honestly, I think there is nothing to complain,” he retorted.

Dhoni and his one-time deputy Yuvraj Singh were back in the nets for the first time since India lost by 200 runs to New Zealand on Tuesday, making the most of the time away by resting overworked bodies.

After two consecutive days at the nets, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were given the day off, as were new-ball bowlers Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra.
The rest of the squad, minus Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina who returned later in the day from a short visit to India, were at training.