BIRMINGHAM: India’s World Cup campaign has suffered another injury blow. Vijay Shankar has been ruled out with a toe injury. The team management has sought Mayank Agarwal as a replacement.
The all-rounder was struck on the toe while facing Jasprit Bumrah while batting at the nets before the England match on Sunday.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan had earlier been ruled out with a thumb injury after playing two matches.
He was replaced by Rishabh Pant, who played in place of Vijay in the defeat against England.
Vijay had earlier been struck on the toe by the same bowler while having nets in Southampton over a week ago.
The latest injury ends his World Cup.
“Vijay Shankar sustained a no displaced fracture of the left big toe, which will require a minimum of three weeks to heal. The injury rules him out of the ongoing World Cup. The team management has requested the ICC to consider Mayank Agarwal as his replacement,” the Indian team said in a statement.
That Vijay had hurt his toe again was first disclosed by captain Virat Kohli at the time of the toss before the England match.
After the match, vice-captain Rohit Sharma had said the same.
“Vijay was hit on the toe while facing Bumrah at the nets before the match. That’s why he was not part of the XI. Otherwise, we had identified him as our No 4 batsman.”
It is unlikely that Agarwal will join the squad in time for the Bangladesh match in Birmingham on July 2. But he should be there before India’s last league match, against Sri Lanka on July 6 in Leeds.
His arrival will give the team some flexibility in terms of the batting order.
The team can think of having him as Rohit’s opening partner and pushing KL Rahul back to No 4, where he played before Dhawan got injured.
India needs one more win in the last two matches to ensure passage to the semifinals.