Krunal Pandya's Royal London One-Day Cup campaign for Warwickshire ends early due to groin injury

Krunal Pandya is likely to miss three weeks of cricketing action, therefore not making him available for selection should Warwickshire reach the knockout stages

Krunal Pandya (Source: Twitter)

India all-rounder Krunal Pandya's Royal London One-Day Cup campaign has come to an early end as the veteran cricketer has sustained an injury in his groin while playing a match against Nottinghamshire on August 17. The left-handed all-rounder scored 37 runs in the match but couldn't return to the field for fielding in the second innings due to injury. Pandya didn't take part in Warwickshire's win over Durham on Sunday and also missed the match against Middlesex.

Following consultation with doctors, Pandya is likely to miss three weeks of cricketing action, therefore not making him available for selection should Warwickshire reach the knockout stages.

Pandya has played five ODIs and 19 T20Is so far, with his last national appearance coming in white-ball series against Sri Lanka in July 2021.

"It's frustrating to lose Krunal for the remainder of the tournament, but he leaves the club with our very best wishes. Krunal was an excellent role model around the group and I`m sure the younger members of the squad will have learnt a lot from him on and off the pitch," said Paul Farbrace, Director of Cricket at Warwickshire.

An Update!
Indians who are appearing in English County cricket this season...
- Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex)
- Washington Sundar (Lancashire)
- Krunal Pandya (Warwickshire)
- Umesh Yadav (Middlesex)
- Navdeep Saini (Kent)
- Mohd Siraj (Warwickshire)*

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 19, 2022

In five Royal London One-Day matches, Pandya, 31, scored 134 runs at an average of 33.50, including an 82-ball 74 in the tied match against Surrey at The Oval. He also picked nine wickets at an average of 25 with his left-arm spin bowling, including consecutive three-wicket hauls against Sussex and Leicestershire.

"Due to the short turnaround, we won't be signing a replacement, however, I`m incredibly excited to see our squad build on Sunday's excellent win over Durham," added Farbrace.

Krunal was one of two Indian players signed by Warwickshire in the ongoing English county season. While he was available for 50-over matches, pacer Mohammed Siraj has been signed up for the last three matches of the County Championship season in Division 1 and is scheduled to join the side after participating in India's 3-0 ODI series triumph over Zimbabwe. (With IANS inputs)