Injury rules Nehra out of WC final

Agencies

Mumbai, 01 April 2011: Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra will not be available for the World Cup final due to a finger injury, Indian skipper MS Dhoni confirmed on Friday. The pacer had injured his middle-finger on the right hand while taking a catch of Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi at Mohali on Wednesday.

 

Although the injury is not to his bowling hand, the team is apprehensive about including him in the playing eleven as any discomfort or aggravation of the injury during the final against Sri Lanka can potentially jeopardise India’s strategy against the Lankans.

 

In the worst case, India could even have faced the situation of being a bowler short midway through the game. Nehra’s exclusion makes it virtually certain that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be part of the team that faces Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.

 

 

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always trusted Ashwin to hold his own in big match situations. Right now it does seem quite clearly that India will go into this game with two spinners - Harbhajan Singh and Ashwin, two pacers - Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel and with Yuvraj Singh as the fifth bowler.