Before even kickstarting their campaign in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Delhi Capitals (DC) received a major blow as their lead Indian pacer Ishant Sharma injured himself at training ahead of the opening encounter against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday (September 20). 

According to a report by Cricbuzz, "the fast bowler injured his back on the eve of their first game in Dubai during a practice session and is set to be sidelined for a considerable amount of time."

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The IPL 2020 is Ishant's comeback to competitive cricket after hurting his ankle and being ruled out of the second Test during India's tour of New Zealand in March this year. 

Ishant had first suffered the injury on the same ankle in January, but the 32-year-old went through an extensive rehabilitation programme at the NCA and was able to recover in time to make the trip. 

He was expected to play a perfect foil with the new ball to Capitals' much-vaunted overseas pacer Kagiso Rabada. 

Nevertheless, the team boast of decent like-for-like replacement options available for Ishant in the form of Harshal Patel, Mohit Sharma and Avesh Khan among others. 

Ishant took 13 wickets in 13 innings at an economy rate of 7.58 in his team's impressive run till the play-offs last season.