Nehra blow to Sunrisers before the eliminator

Photo: BCCI

Bengaluru: With Yuvraj Singh’s participation still in doubt, Sunrisers Hyderabad received another heavy blow ahead of their eliminator against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 17.

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League T20 tournament, confirmed head coach Tom Moody.

"Ashish Nehra won't be fit for the remainder of the tournament," he told media in an interaction on the eve of the IPL eliminator clash between Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at Chinnaswamy stadium here.

The veteran India pacer was forced off the field with a hamstring strain in a league match against Rising Pune Supergiant on May 6.

Nehra's absence will be a sizable blow to the side, considering the devastating form the opening batsmen Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine are in.

The veteran bowler has been injury-prone. He has featured in only 8 of the 17 fixtures last season, while this season he has played 6 out of 14.

However, Hyderabad has found a champion bowler in Mohammad Siraj, who made his impression by picking up four wickets in their must-win match against Gujarat Lions to qualify for playoffs.

On Yuvraj Singh's fitness, Moody said the left-handed Punjab batsman will be undergoing fitness test in the evening.

"Yuvraj will be undergoing a fitness test this evening. We will be giving him obviously the opportunity to prove his fitness," he said.

Yuvraj, who had scored 243 runs in 11 games this IPL, had sustained an injury in his fingers against Mumbai Indians and missed the crucial game against Gujarat.

The BCCI and the Indian team management would not like to miss the services of Yuvraj for Champions trophy, scheduled for a kickstart on June 1.