Shankar has been ruled out of the World Cup 2019. (Source: Reuters)In another blow to team India’s campaign, Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the ICC Men Cricket World Cup 2019 due to a toe injury. Mayank Agarwal is most likely to replace him, according to reports.
Vijay Shankar sustained a non-displaced fracture of the left big toe, which will require a minimum of three weeks to heal. The injury rules him out of the ongoing World Cup. The Indian team management has requested the ICC to consider Mayank Agarwal as his replacement.
“Vijay got hit on the toe by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery once again. His situation is not great and he won’t be able to take part in the tournament. He is going back home,” PTI quoted a senior BCCI official as saying.
“The Indian team management is likely to ask for Mayank Agarwal as replacement since he is an opener and also it might give KL Rahul a chance to get back to the No.4 position in case Rishabh Pant fails in the next two games.”
On Sunday, Shankar was replaced by Rishabh Pant in India’s match against England in Birmingham. In Pant’s debut at the World Cup, India saw their first loss, getting beaten by 31 runs at the hands of the hosts.
After the match, vice-captain Rohit Sharma also addressed Shankar’s injury and said, “I thought we made it very clear at the start that Vijay (Shankar) would play, but before the game he got a toe issue. He got hit on his toe by Jasprit in the net session, so he was not fully fit for this particular game.”
Agarwal is most likely to replace the 21-year old following the approval by the ICC’s tournament technical committee. He is expected to arrive in Birmingham for India’s next match against Bangladesh and then head to Leeds with the team for their final group match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
India need another win to advance to the semifinals after registering their first loss in Birmingham.
