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Rahul Dravid injured during practice
Special Correspondent
| Ailing V.V.S. Laxman exempted from attending camp |
CAPTAIN'S WOES: India skipper Rahul Dravid is led away by team physio John Gloster after being hit by a short-pitched delivery from R.P. Singh.
KOLKATA: In what could have been a major crisis before India's upcoming tour of Bangladesh, captain Rahul Dravid was hit by a rising delivery from left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh on the grille of his helmet on the penultimate day of the five-day conditioning camp at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday. However, the injury was reported to be not serious.
Dravid had faced around 10 deliveries when the short-pitched ball from R.P. Singh rose sharply. Dravid was seen taking half a step back and half a step forward before deciding to move out of harm's way. The ball hit the deck, gathered speed and struck the left side of the grille of Dravid's helmet.
Powerful blow
The blow was so powerful that Dravid staggered back, knelt down, pulled off his helmet and collapsed. Yuvraj Singh reached Dravid first and made him lie down face up before physio John Gloster took charge of the situation. By then Dravid had begun to bleed from the nose and Gloster covered the area with a towel and led him away to the pavilion for medical attention.
Later, the Bangladesh-bound team's administrative manager, Surendra Bhave, told the media that the injury was not a serious one. He said Dr.
Debasish Sanyal, the ENT specialist who attended to Dravid, diagnosed the injury as "nose trauma'' and advised Dravid complete rest for 24 hours.
"There was no cut injury; only bruises on the nose caused by the impact on the grille. An X-ray was done which did not reveal any fracture,'' a relieved Bhave said and added Dravid would return to play in the next 48 hours or so.
Just before the accident, Dravid was facing the full blast of the Indian pace attack on the centre pitch which included Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, S.
Sreesanth and Singh apart from the spinners. The pitch had bounce and pace and a tinge of grass which helped the ball carry nicely.
No missing tour
Bhave told the media that the Indian captain was resting at his hotel room and Gloster was following up treatment.
When asked whether there was a chance of Dravid missing the tour owing to the injury, Bhave said, "I don't think he will miss the trip. He will be fine in 48 hours.'' He also said that Sachin Tendulkar was progressing very well.
According to information reaching the Eden Gardens, the Board has accepted V.V.S. Laxman's explanation on his inability to join the camp owing to an attack of gastroenteritis and allowed him to rest at home. According to the Board secretary, Niranjan Shah, there was no point in Laxman travelling to Kolkata for a day and said Laxman, who was selected for the Test series, would join the team in Bangladesh.
Bhave said Dinesh Karthik would be joining the camp on Sunday morning. Karthik got married on May 2, the first day of the camp.
The morning session was devoted to nets with video analyst S. Ramakrishnan coming into the picture. He shot video footage of all the batsmen and cricket manager Ravi Shastri took the opportunity to take up certain points to Sourav Ganguly on backfoot drives.
Sachin Tendulkar had a longish session with the yoga instructor and later batted in the nets with non-regular bowlers operating.
On an oppressive afternoon, the players were put through fielding drills, especially throws from the deep and underarm from close range. The boys also had catch practice before one group settled for slip catching and the other went for pick-up-and-throw sequences with one stump to aim at.
On the final day on Sunday, the camp would have only one session before the players leave for the hotel to pack-up and leave the next day.
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