Mumbai Indians Captain Rohit Sharma ruled out of CLT20

Thursday, 11 September 2014 01:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of Champions League Twenty20 due to multiple injuries. He has been diagnosed with a shoulder problem in addition to the fracture to his finger that he sustained during India’s tour to England, ESPNcricinfo understands that Rohit recently visited the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Following an assessment, the physiotherapists at NCA ruled Rohit out for at least another four weeks. Rohit is now likely to return to Bangalore later this week to start his rehabilitation program. It remains to be seen if he will be fit in time for India’s series against West Indies which starts with the first ODI on October 8 in Kochi.

Rohit’s unavailability means Mumbai Indians will be forced to select a new captain for the CLT20. Ever since taking charge from Ricky Ponting midway through the 2013 IPL, Rohit has been leading Mumbai Indians successfully. John Wright, the franchise coach, said the team would take a decision on the new captain within 24 hours. “Rohit will not be playing this tournament. We will finalise the new captain in the next 24 hours,” Wright said after the team’s arrival in Raipur. “We had a faint hope that Rohit might be able to make it but that’s not proved so, so we have got to make that decision in the next 24 hours. We have players that have done it before and have been very successful.” Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh are the main contenders for the captain’s post now. While Harbhajan led Mumbai Indians to their maiden CLT20 triumph in 2011, Pollard and Malinga recently led their respective teams - Barbados Tridents and Southern Express - to domestic titles in Caribbean Premier League and Super Fours, respectively. Mumbai Indians will open their CLT20 campaign with a Qualifiers’ game against Lahore Lions on September 13. Rohit had fractured the middle finger of his right while fielding in the second ODI in England. He was replaced by M Vijay.