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Team India battered and bruised in England
Team India has never fared so badly in recent years. Not only have they been battered in England, losing the Test series 4-0, but all their top players kept picking some injury or the other.
It started with Zaheer Khan's injury in the first Test at Lord's; that threw India's campaign completely off track.
Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir also sustained injuries during the tour, while Zaheer, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag aggravated their past injuries.
A look at the India's casualty list from the England tour.
Photographs: Getty Images
Zaheer opened India's injury count
Hamstring strain and ankle injury
Zaheer Khan was the first player to be ruled out on the tour of England.
The left-arm pacer bowled just 13.3 overs in the first Test at Lord's before being sidelined for the rest of the tour with a hamstring strain and ankle injury.
'Zaheer Khan is suffering from a recurrent right hamstring strain and a right ankle impingement. He will require a surgery for his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring,' read a statement from the BCCI, explaining the nature of his injury.
'He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely. He will therefore not be able to participate in the ongoing Test series and subsequent Twenty20 International and ODI series against England," it added.
Injury stalls Yuvraj's comeback
Fractured left index finger
Yuvraj Singh's Test comeback was cut short after he was hit by a short delivery from Tim Bresnan during the second Test in Nottingham.
The left-hander was peppered with bouncers by the England pacers before one struck the glove on his left hand, forcing him to miss the rest of the Test series, and ODIs too.
He consulted a specialist in London, who advised him rest for a month.
Harbhajan sustains abdominal muscle tear
Grade I Abdominal muscle tear
Another huge blow that came India's way was when frontline spinner Harbhajan Singh was also ruled out of the Test series after sustaining an injury during the second Test.
Harbhajan was ruled out with grade one abdominal muscle tear and ruled out of action for three weeks. It ended a poor series for the off-spinner as he registered combined figures of two for 287 in the first two Tests.
Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner who was out to try his luck with Surrey, took Harbhajan's place in the squad.
Sehwag gamble backfires
Shoulder injury and labyrinthithis of the left ear
India's decision to rush back Virender Sehwag boomeranged, as the opener not only failed with the bat but also aggravated his shoulder injury.
Sehwag fell for a golden pair in the Birmingham Test and then managed just 41 runs in the two innings in the fourth and final Test at The Oval.
It was also revealed later by the BCCI that Sehwag had some problems with his hearing in the left ear.
'Sehwag suffered from labyrinthithis of the left ear on 24 July 2011. Although his condition has improved, he continues to experience headaches. An ENT specialist, who was consulted on the same, has said that he will take two more weeks to recover completely,' the BCCI said.
Incidentally, Sehwag played with a shoulder injury during the Indian Premier League and only underwent surgery after his team was knocked out, thereby not giving himself enough time to recover for the England tour.
Ishant suffers ankle injury
Ligament injury in the left ankle
The injury bug continued to torment as Ishant Sharma hurt his left ankle during the Edgbaston Test.
'Ishant Sharma sustained a ligament injury in his left ankle during the Birmingham Test of the ongoing series. He has responded well to treatment, but will need to undergo a course of intensive rehabilitation and training to prevent recurrence of the pain in his left ankle,' the BCCI said.
Strangely, Ishant decided not to undergo surgery to avoid missing the tour of Australia later this year since his foot would have to be in a plaster for about three months and rehabilitation could take six to eight months.
So, with the impending Australian tour in December, Sharma decided to go to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for rehab.
Jharkhand fast bowler Varun Aaron replaced him for the ODI series.
A nightmare tour for Gambhir
Blurred vision due to mild concussion
Gautam Gambhir also had a nightmare tour as he kept picking injuries all through the four-Test series.
First, the Indian opener hurt his elbow while fielding at short leg during the first Test at Lord's, which forced him sit out of the next match.
Things only got worse for the left-hander as he hurt himself after banging his head against the ground while attempting to take a catch. He suffered blurred vision because of mild concussion, forcing him to miss the ODIs.
'He was diagnosed of mild concussion by the attending sports physician and neurologist. He was sent for a precautionary CT and MRI scan of his head and neck which was reported as normal. He has been resting since and his symptoms have improved. However, he still complains of some visual disturbance and inability to focus on an object for long. The ophthalmologist (eye specialist) has reported Gautam's eyes as perfectly normal and the symptoms have been put down to the mild concussion,' the BCCI said.
He was advised rest and is expected to recover spontaneously without any further medical intervention.
A painful hit for Rohit
Fractured right index finger
Rohit Sharma lasted just one delivery before he was ruled out of the ongoing five-match ODI series against England due to an index finger injury in his right hand.
Sharma suffered the injury after he was hit by a Stuart Broad lifter, as he tried to avoid it. Scans later revealed a crack in the finger.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary was named as his replacement.
Tendulkar suffers toe injury
Toe injury
Sachin Tendulkar's wait for his 100th century in international cricket continued after he was forced to miss the ongoing ODI series because of injury.
The veteran batsman visited a specialist in London who advised him rest of four to six weeks to recover from an inflamed big toe on his right foot.
It is the same injury he suffered in 2001. It flared up again before the first ODI at Chester-le-Street.
Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath was named the master blaster's replacement.