India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is slated to miss the T20 World Cup 2022 thanks to a freak knee injury for which he underwent surgery recently, after being ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 tournament where he had played only two matches.
Jadeja had been dealing with knee issues which resulted in him missing the ODI series in West Indies, but now, the Times of India has reported, that his recent bout with the knee injury could have been completely avoided.
As per the report, Jadeja was asked to undergo some water-based training activity in the ‘backwater’ facility of the hotel where the Indian team was based in Dubai during the Asia Cup.
“He had to balance himself on some kind of a ski-board as part of an adventure activity – not part of the training manual at all. It was absolutely unnecessary. He slipped and twisted his knee badly, which led to a surgery,” sources in the know of developments told TOI.
Ravindra Jadeja flew to Mumbai and underwent the surgery under the guidance of BCCI consultant and senior orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala.
The reports also questioned the need for such a risky ski board activity ahead of such an important T20 World Cup tournament. Times of India also reported that the BCCI officials are fuming over how the injury has happened.
While no official questions have been raised as yet, those in the know say the nature of the injury is so bad, that an explanation will become necessary.
“What’s surprising here is, that Head Coach Rahul Dravid hasn’t ‘lost his cool’ given how the injury occurred. Ideally, one would have expected Dravid to question this entire process. All said, the bottom line is – India will travel to Australia without Jadeja,” sources add.
Ravindra Jadeja had done brilliantly in the two games he played, bowling two economic overs against Pakistan and scoring a match-winning 35 in 29 balls, helping Hardik Pandya finish the match in the end.
Against Hong Kong, he didn’t get to bat but picked one wicket in 4 overs giving 15 runs and affecting one run out as well. After this match, Jadeja got injured and was ruled out of the tournament.
(Times of India report)
