India superstars join growing injury list

India skipper Virat Kohli will miss the start of the Indian Premier League season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have joined a growing list of sidelined Indian superstars.

The BCCI released a fitness update on eight of their players on Saturday, revealing Kohli – who is currently undergoing rehabilitation for the shoulder injury he sustained in the third Test against Australia in Ranchi - will miss at least Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5.

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“His recovery will be assessed in the second week of April to determine an exact return to play date for IPL 2017,” the BCCI said in the statement.

Kohli’s absence from the IPL is a second blow for Royal Challengers Bangalore, who will already be without injured India opener KL Rahul for the entirety of the tournament, but RCB are spoilt for choice in terms of a replacement captain, with Proteas ODI skipper AB de Villiers set to fill the breach.

"He (Kohli) will come in on April 2," RCB head coach Dan Vettori said late last week."Between now and then, the BCCI doctors and physio will speak to us and our medical staff will get a clearer picture.

"The likely scenario is that AB de Villiers will take over the duties, but we'll answer that once we find out if Virat is out."

Rahul is set to undergo surgery on his right shoulder, after the batsman dislocated the joint in the opening Test of the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series.

The injury didn't prevent the 24-year-old hammering six straight fifties against the Australians to play an influential role in his country's 2-1 series success, but it will see him sidelined for the duration of the lucrative T20 competition. 

Fellow opener Murali Vijay (Kings XI Punjab) will also go under the knife, for an injury to his right wrist, while Ashwin – who plays under Australia skipper Steve Smith at Rising Pune Supergiants - will miss the entire tournament due to a groin injury that is set to keep the spinner out for six to eight weeks.

Jadeja, last week named player of the Border-Gavaskar series after taking 25 wickets against Australia, has been advised to rest for two weeks due to an issue with his spinning finger and will miss the first two games of Gujarat Lions’ season, while Kolkata Knight Riders will be without Umesh Yadav for their opening two matches due to right hip and lower back soreness.

In more positive news, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have been declared fit for the start of the Mumbai Indians’ IPL season.