Rohit ruled out of remainder of tour

While they seek to continue their winning momentum and take an unassailable 2-0 lead, India were dealt a blow ahead of the third one-dayer against England on Saturday as opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour because of injury.

Sharma, who had made a well-crafted half-century in India’s 133-run hammering of England in the second game, suffered a fracture on the middle finger of his right hand. Murali Vijay has been picked as Sharma’s replacement for the rest of the series. Sharma’s injury has turned out to be India’s biggest worry going into the third one-dayer.

The first ODI in Bristol was abandoned without a ball being bowled and India hammered the hosts under the Duckworth/Lewis method in the second game in Cardiff to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series. 

Sharma’s fractured finger is not only a blow to the India team, but a big setback for Mumbai Indians as well, who will be playing in the qualifiers of the Champions League T20 starting September 13, in Raipur. It is unlikely Sharma will play any part during MI’s qualifying round matches in Raipur, which kicks off with a match against Lahore Lions.

As of now, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard looks a likely candidate to lead the popular T20 franchise. ‘While Pollard is an automatic choice in the MI set-up, his success as the captain having led the Barbados Tridents to title triumph in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will go in his favour. But Harbhajan should also be sounded out,’ a source in the know of things told PTI.