Rib injury rules Harshal Patel out of remainder of West Indies T20I series
Harshal Patel has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20I series in the West Indies – there’s one game to go after Saturday’s fixture – after failing to recover from a rib injury, the BCCI confirmed around the time of the toss ahead of the fourth T20I.The BCCI didn’t make it clear whether Harshal, who hasn’t played a single game on the ongoing white-ball tour, picked up the injury after reaching the Caribbean or if he was carrying the injury from the earlier tour of England. He did play all three T20Is in England, with middling returns – four wickets at an average of 23.25 and an economy rate of 8.45 – even as India won 2-1.
There was also no clarity about the timeframe for Harshal’s recovery. The squad for the Asia Cup is expected early next week, and Harshal could well be a doubt for that tournament, which will be played from August 27 in the UAE.In terms of fast bowlers, India have fielded Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh in all four T20Is in the West Indies so far, while Avesh Khan is playing his third game today. Hardik Pandya, the allrounder, played the first three games, but was rested for the fourth.Harshal has been the designated death bowler for India in T20Is since making his debut last year. In 2022, he has picked up 19 wickets in 15 T20Is at an economy of 8.76. Only Bhuvneshwar has picked up more wickets – 20 in ten games – for India in this period.