Injury scare for Axar Patel

The left-arm spinner hurt himself while batting in the nets on Wednesday, a day ahead of the fourth One-Day International against Australia.

Axar Patel was ruled out of the first three matches of the series due to an injury while playing football.

As it drizzled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, India’s young spinner Axar Patel suffered another injury. While batting in the nets, Patel hurt himself and team physio Patrick Farhart rushed in to provide initial treatment to the young gun.

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While the seriousness of the injury is still not clear, chief coach Ravi Shastri and a few other members of the side too gathered near the batting arena to inquire if all was well with Patel. A few minutes later, he limped out of the ground with a dejected face.

Though there is no official word from the team management on the injury, sources suggest it is a minor injury on the leg. Patel had missed out on the first three matches after injuring himself while playing a game of football before India’s series opener against Australia in Chennai. Ravindra Jadeja was then brought in as his replacement.

The national selectors, however, brought the Gujarat spinner back into the side for the remaining games, leaving out the experienced Jadeja. But with Patel again hurting himself, the team management may have to think about the alternatives again. Of course, that would depend on the graveness of the injury.