Injury scare for Indian wicket-keeper

The Indian cricket team, already missing some key players due to injury, suffered a scare when wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta's knee had to receive treatment.

Dasgupta, the only wicket-keeper in the Indian team, was given ice-pack treatment by physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, but recovered well enough to allay fears within the team as it began preparing for the first game of the South African tour.

"The last thing that the team needs now is more injuries," said manager Mahendra Kumar Bhargava. He said the Indian team already had limited resources because of injuries to players in the build-up to the two-month-long South African tour.

Bhargava said they did not want to take a chance on more players being injured and were therefore taking the practice sessions "very carefully."

He said all the Indian players were fit because they had been playing before arriving in South Africa on Monday and there was therefore no need to overwork them.

"They just need to get used to the South African conditions," Bhargava said, adding that the current hot weather in Johannesburg suited them fine as they often played under even hotter conditions back home.

The Indian team arrived early to prepare for their first game on Monday in Centurion against a Nicky Oppenheimer invitation XI. Their first one-day international against the home team will be in Johannesburg on October 5. The tour includes three Tests and 10 limited overs internationals in a triangular, which also features Kenya.

During the practice sessions the Indians were spotted doing what local commentators regarded as unusual manoeuvres, such as running between wickets on surfaces that most of the team members were setting foot on for the first time.

--Indo-Asian News Service

Mail Cricket Editor