T20 WC: Rohit Sharma hit on thumb in nets, dismisses injury scare ahead of marquee Pakistan clash

India captain Rohit Sharma suffered a blow to his left thumb while batting in the nets ahead of the India-Pakistan marquee 2024 T20 World Cup clash in New York. While facing throw-down specialist Nuwan Seneviratne during an extended training session, the ball bounced a tad extra from the good length area, hitting Rohit on his thumb, resulting in a cut. The veteran batter was seen in discomfort before dismissing any scare, continuing with batting and practice drills.

Following India’s tournament opener against Ireland on June 5 at the newly-built Nassau County Cricket Stadium, where bowlers had a field day, dismissing Ireland on a mere 96, the batters couldn’t get ample time in the middle. To compensate for that, and knowing whom they face next, the Indian batters spent long hours training in the nets.

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While they shared the space with the South African players at the Cantiague Park in Long Island, who were also training for their second game of the tournament against the Netherlands on Saturday (June 8), the Indian Team left no stone unturned in preparing full-throttle for the marquee clash on Sunday.

Star batters Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant were the first to reach the nets, facing Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohammed Siraj.

Considering how the drop-in pitches in New York have behaved in four contested matches thus far, where teams batting first have struggled to put runs on the board, the Indian batters practiced accordingly.

Kuldeep to hog all the limelight

After his shock omission from the Ireland game, Kuldeep could return to the playing XI against Pakistan, more so for his numbers against their captain and star batter Babar Azam. Already under pressure over his team’s loss to the co-hosts USA, Azam is not the best batter against left-arm spinners in this format, striking at over 100.

All four spinners, including Kuldeep, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal had long net sessions too, with Shivam Dube and Jadeja spotted playing cross-batted shots in the nets. Batting great Kohli joined them soon after for his second stint of the day.

Meanwhile, after the training, the players engaged in a friendly game of football before calling it a day.

(With inputs from agencies)