England has suffered a major injury scare even before the start of their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 campaign in the UAE, as the star batter Liam Livingstone suffered a finger injury and is looking doubtful for their opening game against the West Indies.
The all-rounder injured his finger while dropping a catch at deep midwicket when Ishan Kishan pulled Chris Jordan into the leg side during the warm-up match between England and India in Dubai on Monday.
He looked in pain with swelling visible on the little finger of his left hand and even had to receive medical attention on the field, before going off the ground, during England's seven-wicket defeat against India in the warm-up match.
Following the injury, Livingstone is reportedly unlikely to take part in England’s next warm-up match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, October 20, as well as in their T20 World Cup 2021 opener against the West Indies on October 23 at Dubai International Stadium.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, a spokesperson from the England camp revealed that Livingstone's injury would be assessed “in next 24 hours” and he will not feature in the practice match against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, England all-rounder Moeen Ali has admitted that the injury was a “bit of a scare” for the team since Livingstone is one of their key players for the T20 World Cup, but said he is fine.
Moeen said, “I think he's alright. I think it's just bruising on the back of the hand but I think he'll be fine. Obviously, it was a bit of a scare at the time but he said it was fine, so hopefully, he's all good.”
He concluded, “He's a brilliant player - he's been playing really well over the last couple of years. Hopefully, he can carry that form into the World Cup and I feel like it's going be a big stage for him.”
(With ESPNcricinfo/ANI Inputs)
