Massive blow for India as fast bowler gets injured ahead of West Indies tour

The injury that happened might have hampered Avesh Khan's chances of India's comeback after one year.

Indian team received a significant blow ahead of their white-ball series in West Indies as fast bowler Avesh Khan reportedly suffered a shoulder injury on Day 1 (Tuesday) of the Duleep Trophy semifinal match between West Zone and Central Zone played in Alur, near Bengaluru.

Avesh Khan has been named in the Indian squad for the T20Is series against West Indies which will be played in August.

On July 5, the BCCI selection committee headed by new chief Ajit Agarkar named a 15-member squad for the five-T20 series in West Indies. Hardik Pandya is set to lead the Indian team and be groomed for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the same venue in 2024. Suryakumar Yadav is the vice-captain of the side.

The five-match T20I series will start at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on August 3. Guyana will stage the second and third T20Is on August 6 and 8, respectively. The T20I series will conclude in Lauderhill, Florida with a blockbuster weekend of back-to-back matches on August 12 and August 13 at Broward County Cricket Stadium.

Avesh had last played for India back in August in a T20I against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup.

Avesh Khan hurts his shoulder during the Duleep Trophy match

As per Sportstar reports, when Avesh Khan attempted to grab a catch for Central Zone, he collided with Rinku Singh, injuring his right shoulder. The incident occurred during the first session of the game, and the player needed to be replaced for treatment during the second session.

The 26-year-old pacer chose to forgo the morning warm-up exercises as well as the Day 2 session and did not play any cricket for the remainder of the day. He took Het Patel's wicket earlier on Tuesday while bowling 11 overs.

Avesh Khan suffered an injury after being named in India's T20 squad for the West Indies series, marking his return to the national team in the shortest format of cricket after a nearly one-year absence.

While the gravity of his injury is yet to be known, Khan may have time to recover as the T20 series doesn't start before August 3.