Picture Credit: Twitter
Punjab Kings player Jitesh Sharma sustained an injury while fielding during the team's match against Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday. The Vidarbha cricketer, who is a wicketkeeper-batter, was playing as a fielder with Jonny Bairstow taking the wicketkeeping duties for the Mayank Agarwal-led side.
On the field, Sharma dived trying to save a boundary and seemingly pulled his hamstring muscle. There is no official confirmation on the nature of his injury or his further availability. However, he was forced to leave the ground immediately after experiencing discomfort.
The incident happened in the 11th over of the Gujarat Titans' batting innings. In the fifth ball being bowled by Rahul Chahar, Shubman Gill timed a cut to perfection as the ball beat the point fielder to the boundary. Sharma, who was stationed deep point, dived but the ball beat him to his right.
It was this effort that led to his injury and he was replaced by a substitute fielder.
After their match on Friday, the next game of the Kings is scheduled on April 13 on Wednesday which means that a minor injury could be healed in this gap. However, anything serious could see Sharma missing a few fixtures for the team. In 2 IPL innings, Sharma has accumulated 49 teams. However, it was his keeping that caught more attention and thus it raised a few eyebrows when he was not considered for the keeping duties instead of Bairstow who is a good athlete in the outfield as well.