Sree tells board about injury at last minute, set to miss tour

On Friday, Sreesanth informed BCCI of his injury and the board hastily sent a press release saying, “The bowler has got a left side strain from the last (IPL) game at Mohali.” The report further stated how MRI scans have confirmed the injury and the bowler currently has “some effusion in the region”.

Sreesanth, who is currently in Bangalore, has been asked to report to the medical team at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and his availability for the tour will be decided after the assessment there. Shah added in his press release that “the bowler looks doubtful”. Sources say, however, that he is almost certain to miss the series due to injury. Sreesanth featured in all his 15 IPL matches, finishing with 19 wickets — joint second with Shane Warne on the wicket-takers list.

The board, sources say, got to hear from Sreesanth only at the last moment — after the team had received instructions about their travel plans. Therefore, due to lack of time, whether to send a replacement or not hasn’t been confirmed as yet but the names of Munaf Patel and Manpreet Singh Gony are doing the rounds. “Gony has performed very well in the IPL. Instead of sending Munaf Patel, picking Gony for this Bangladesh tour can be a good way to test if he is good enough for one-dayers,” said a senior board official.

Strange as it may seem, Sreesanth’s case is not the only example of delayed communication. Doubts are lingering on the fitness of Delhi bowler Ishant Sharma as well. While Ishant will head for Bangladesh, Andrew Leipus (the Kolkata Knight Riders’ physio) has clearly suggested that selectors the should go slow on Ishant because the bowler “needs attention to his left ankle as he is showing early signs of developing posterior ankle impingement”.