Ravinchandran Ashwin, who is being seen as a crucial instrument of warfare for MS Dhoni at the match against South Africa, gave a minor scare to the team when he picked up an injury on his elbow after being hit by an Umesh Yadav delivery while batting during the training session at the Junction Oval here on Wednesday.
Wincing in pain, he threw off his gloves and hand guard to put an ice-pack for around 20 minutes before he resumed play, this time in the side nets. later in the evening, the Indian team’s media manager Dr RN Baba clarified that all was well and Ashwin’s pain had been momentary. “All is normal,” he said repeatedly when asked about Ashwin’s progress.
However, another man whose return to the squad is much awaited, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, seems to not be so lucky. Standing on the sidelines of the net sessions, Bhuvi as he is popularly known, did not partake of the training activities in full flow. Recuperating from an ankle injury he picked up just before the Test series against Australia, he has not been able to bowl long spells and on this Wednesday avoided even playing football with the boys.
He did bat for some time but as Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Mohammad Sami took charge, bowling against Kohli, Dhoni and Raina, Bhuvi had no choice but to stand and stare. It looks unlikely that this well-mannered swing bowler will acquire full fitness to play at the MCG on this Sunday. Kohli, meanwhile, spent a lot of time batting in the middle, playing difficult deliveries with consummate ease, style ans power. He batted for a full 45 to 50 minutes and in the process cleared the boundary several times.