‘Axar likely to miss 2 ODIs against Australia’

Colombo: India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday said left-arm spinner Axar Patel is likely to miss the first two ODIs against Australia next week while middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is “99 percent” match-fit.

Axar had suffered a left quadriceps strain during the inconsequential Super 4 match against Bangladesh on Friday and was ruled out of the Asia Cup. Washington Sundar was drafted in as Axar’s replacement in India’s Asia Cup squad.

The PTI had reported on Saturday that Axar will be out of Australia series and could also be a doubtful starter for the World Cup. The worrying part is that MRI scans have revealed that its a hamstring tear.

“Axar had a small tear. It looks like maybe it will take a week or 10 days (to heal), I don’t know. We have to see how that injury progresses. Some guys recover quickly, and I hope that’s the case with him,” skipper Rohit didn’t seem too confident about the speed of recovery for the Gujarat all-rounder.

“I am not sure whether he will be able to play the first two games against Australia at home. But we will wait and see,” said Rohit.