In back to back setbacks for the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out of the ongoing tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He has reportedly suffered a hip injury, which is likely to keep him out of action for quite some time now.
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It all happened during SRH's game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Dubai, on Friday. As Bhuvi was bowling, he pulled up on three occasions, citing a niggle in his thigh area, while the physio attended to him twice. After a couple of brief halts, he walked out of the game.
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“Bhuvi will not be able to take further part in this year’s tournament, as he has been ruled out with a hip injury. A big blow for sure, as he is someone who leads the bowling unit and is also an integral part of the leadership group on the ground,” a source was quoted as saying to ANI.
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The injury initially seemed to be a hamstring niggle, as SRH skipper David Warner was unaware of the extent of Bhuvi's injury and had said that he would need to check with the physio on the severity of it. “I am not too sure, have to speak to the physio, can answer this ques when we have more information,” he had said following CSK's match.
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Meanwhile, on Sunday, during SRH's game against Mumbai Indians (MI), Bhuvi did not feature for the side, as Warner had noted that the seamer was likely to be out of action for a couple of games. However, the hip injury changes the entire complexion of SRH's season campaign altogether.
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As of now, it is unclear if SRH would seek a replacement for him. However, they have adequate pace-bowling options in their side, ranging from the likes of Vijay Shankar and Jason Holder, along with Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanleke and Sandeep Sharma.
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Furthermore, it would be interesting to see how long he is out of action. Also, the worrying factor would be if he would be able to recover in time for the upcoming gruelling India's tour of Australia in November, where they are scheduled to play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.
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