New Delhi, In a piece of good news for Indian cricket fans, all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, has been declared fit, ensuring no changes will be made to the 15-member India squad for the upcoming 50-over World Cup which starts in England and Wales on May 30.
Jadhav had sustained a shoulder injury during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, India team physiotherapist Patrick Farhart gave a final nod about Jadhav’s fitness to the selectors a few days ago.
The selectors eventually made up their minds after they were told that the 34-year-old was also batting in the nets without any pain in his injured shoulder.
“We have got the medical certificate declaring Jadhav is fit to play in the World Cup. He will travel to the UK with the rest of the squad on Wednesday,” chief selector MSK Prasad told CricketNext on Monday.
“We received the fitness certificate from Farhart on Monday and we are satisfied with the report. Jadhav should be available for India’s first game against South Africa,” he added.
The International Cricket Committee (ICC) rules regarding the World Cup permit changes in the 15-member preliminary squad till May 23.
Jadhav had injured his left shoulder while trying to save four overthrows in a Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on May 5, exactly a month before India’s first match in the World Cup against South Africa.
He had left the field immediately, and was then ruled out of the rest of the IPL season.
However, the BCCI selectors didn’t rush into naming a replacement for Jadhav, given the time they had for his full recovery. Had Jadhav failed to recover, the selection panel would have picked a replacement from the five standbys: Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel and Navdeep Saini.
India will open its World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5 in Southampton.
