Injured Ishant to miss first one-dayer

Ishant Sharma will definitely miss the first ODI against England, to be played in Rajkot on October 14, and could well sit out the second game too due to mild ankle sprain.

Ishant Sharma will definitely miss the first ODI against England, to be played in Rajkot on October 14, and could well sit out the second game too. As reported by the Hindustan Times Ishant has aggravated an existing ankle injury and was advised five days' rest, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Wednesday. "Ishant Sharma has got a mild ankle sprain and he has been advised rest for five days. He is undergoing his rehabilitation at present and is making good progress," N Srinivasan, secretary of the board said in a release. "Hence he would not be available for the first ODI against England."

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The second ODI is to be played in Indore on November 17. If Ishant is to take rest for five days, as advised by specialists, he will not have had sufficient bowling and training before the second game.

The BCCI decided not to name a replacement for Ishant, choosing instead to leave the team to select its seam bowlers from Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and RP Singh.

The visitors, meanwhile, have fitness problems of their own. Ryan Sidebottom, the left-arm swing bowler, has been ruled out of the first ODI by an Achilles heel injury sustained last month. Stuart Broad, the promising young fast bowler, was also in doubt having missed the most recent warm-up match with a sore knee. "At the moment we are hopeful that he'll be fit for the first match," an England team spokesperson said.