- Vijay Shankar suffered a hamstring injury against the Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.
- The Tamil Nadu all-rounder is the third SRH player to be ruled out due to injury this season.
Last updated: 31st Oct,2020 3:14PM
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury (Grade 2). He became the third SRH player to be ruled out of IPL 2020 after Mitchell Marsh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The all-rounder had pulled his hamstring while bowling his second over against DC. He didn’t get a chance to bat as SRH had piled up 219 runs while losing just two wickets. With the ball, he could just bowl 1.5 overs before walking off the field. Captain David Warner had to then bowl the remaining one ball of the over.
However, it wasn’t of much help as Vijay Shankar limped off the ground and his captain David Warner completed the over. Notably, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha too had suffered a groin injury in that match.
“Unfortunately, he’s [Saha] got a little groin niggle but hopefully, it isn’t too bad. Vijay Shankar has a hamstring issue as well,” Warner confirmed after the match.
While Saha has recovered and is available for tonight’s do-or-die clash against RCB, Shankar’s condition deteriorated leading to him being ruled out of the business end of IPL 2020.
Injury hell for SRH:
The ongoing season has been a forgettable one for SRH as far as injuries are concerned. Earlier in the season, they had lost the services of their pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. The Hyderabad-based outfit later roped in Prithvi Raj Yarra and Jason Holder to replace Bhuvneshwar and Marsh respectively.
SRH are currently at the seventh spot in the points table with 5 wins from 12 games. They are still in the playoff race and could make it to the next round if they win their remaining games and the other results go their way. The David Warner-led side will be in action on Saturday when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Vijay Shankar’s absence will leave a big void in the SRH middle order
One of the many concerns plaguing SRH at the start of the season was their fragile middle order. While 19-year-old Priyam Garg has played the occasional big innings and Abdul Samad can strike a few lusty blows, the Hyderabad-based franchise lacked stability in the middle overs.
Vijay Shankar, after recovering from his back injury, perfectly plugged this hole. Not only did he help resurrect the innings with a 51-ball 52 after the loss of early wickets against the Rajasthan Royals, but he also perfectly bridged the gap between the power-packed top order and an inexperienced lower-middle order.
Additionally, Vijay Shankar was more than a handy bowler on the slow UAE wickets. He would stem the flow of runs in the middle overs and also break crucial partnerships. While there are a lot of players in the SRH dugout to replace him in the starting line-up, none have the pedigree to fill Vijay Shankar’s shoes. And perhaps, it’s a bit too late in the season to sign replacements.
