India suffered a major injury scare on the third day of their warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI when Prithvi Shaw rolled his left ankle attempting to take a catch on the deep midwicket boundary.
Shaw got under the catch – from a lofted shot by Max Bryant – but went over on his ankle as he tried to keep himself inside the boundary. He stayed down on the ground as the India physio raced across to assess him and was then carried off the field into the changing rooms looking in significant pain before going to hospital for scans.
“The medical team is assessing Prithvi Shaw at the moment,” the BCCI tweeted. “He hurt his left ankle while attempting to take a catch at the boundary ropes. Shaw is being taken to the hospital for scans.”
It would be a huge blow to India if the injury was to impact Shaw’s availability for the opening Test in Adelaide next week – or even worse longer – as he is penciled in as one of the openers while India debate who partners him, either KL Rahul who failed in the first innings at the SCG or the recalled M Vijay.
Shaw was in sparkling form on the second day as he struck a boundary-laden 66 and his arrival in Australia has created much excitement. He made a superb start to his Test career against West Indies were he scored 237 runs in three innings including a stunning century on debut in Rajkot.
After his eye-catching display yesterday, India’s batting coach Sanjay Banger lauded Shaw’s temperament and ability to adapt at such a young age.
“In whichever format he’s played he’s made a mark straightaway,” he said. “Wherever he has played he has shown he can adapt to conditions and the stage as well. He plays with a lot of clarity and the impressive thing about him is he gets into good position. The fearlessness of youth probably helps him.”
More to follow