Injuries cast shadow on Twenty20 World Cup selection

Injuries to key players, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, would be at the back of the senior national selectors when they sit here tomorrow to pick the Indian squad for Twenty20 Cricket World Cup which begins next month in the West Indies.

Injuries to key players, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, would be at the back of the senior national selectors when they sit here tomorrow to pick the Indian squad for Twenty20 Cricket World Cup which begins next month in the West Indies.

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Dhoni and opener Gautam Gambhir were injured during the early part of the ongoing Indian Premier League while Ashish Nehra, another important member, has not played any match in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils due to a rib cage problem.

In last June's Twenty20 World Cup in England, India's defence for the title they won with much fanfare in 2007 in South Africa was affected because of injuries to key players Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

The selectors would be wary of the injuries to the key players when they meet to prune down the preliminary list of 30 players to half for the April 30-May 16 tournament in the Caribbean.

The biggest worry could be the injury to left-arm pacer Nehra, whose last competitive tie was against South Africa in the second ODI at Gwalior on February 24.