London, 11 August (H.S.):
Indian all-rounder Ashutosh Sharma will miss Hampshire’s One-Day Cup clash against Derbyshire on Tuesday after sustaining an injury during the team’s match on Sunday.
Hampshire confirmed Ashutosh’s unavailability in its match preview released on Tuesday but did not disclose the nature or severity of his injury.
“Ashutosh Sharma is unavailable due to an injury sustained during Sunday’s match. Fast bowler Harry Petrie, who featured in the opening three matches of the competition, returns to the squad,” Hampshire said in its pre-match update.
Ashutosh has struggled to make a significant impact with the bat in the One-Day Cup this season. He has scored only 56 runs in seven matches, with a highest score of 16. However, he has been highly effective with the ball and is currently Hampshire’s leading wicket-taker in the competition.
The Indian all-rounder has claimed 14 wickets in seven matches at an impressive bowling average of 15.92. Despite his difficulties with the bat, his performances with the ball have emerged as one of the major positives for Hampshire.
His injury comes at a crucial stage of the competition, with Hampshire needing strong results to secure progression to the next round. The team currently sits fourth in its group with four victories from seven matches and will need to maintain its momentum in the remaining fixtures.
Harry Petrie has been brought into the squad in place of Ashutosh. Petrie represented Hampshire in the first three matches of the competition.
It remains unclear how serious Ashutosh’s injury is or whether he will be fit to feature in Hampshire’s subsequent matches following Tuesday’s fixture.
Ashutosh represents Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Across the last two IPL seasons, he has scored more than 350 runs for the franchise, maintaining a strike rate of around 170 and a batting average of 31.25.
He began his domestic cricket career with Madhya Pradesh in 2017 before subsequently moving to Railways.
Ashutosh has played 92 matches across formats. In List A cricket, he has scored 458 runs and taken two wickets in 21 matches.
He first attracted significant attention in the IPL with Punjab Kings, making his debut as an Impact Substitute and scoring a quickfire 31 off 17 deliveries. Delhi Capitals subsequently signed him for Rs 3.80 crore ahead of the 2025 season.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
