The Delhi Capitals received a heavy blow right before their IPL 2020 opener against Kings XI Punjab in Dubai on Sunday. Ishant Sharma, the Delhi Capitals’ most experienced seamer suffered an injury on the eve of their match against KXIP and is unlikely to be available for selection at least for the first match.

There, however, has been no official word on the nature and extent of Ishant’s injury but a report on Cricbuzz claimed that the right-arm fast bowler has hurt his back.

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Ishant, who has had a history of various injuries throughout his career, made a comeback to IPL last year with Delhi Capitals after going unsold for two seasons.

In the 2019 edition, the pacer played 13 matches, managing to take 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.58.

He is expected to lead the Delhi pace attack along with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. But if the injury is serious then the Capitals might have to depend on Mohit Sharma to take Ishant’s place.

The Shreyas Iyer-led Capitals are one of three sides – along with their Sunday’s opponents KXIP and Royal Challengers Bangalore – who are yet to win the IPL. They would look to change all that season by starting on a good note.

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They have roped in the services of R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahana to bolster their batting and spin departments. With the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw already in their side, the Capitals have a formidable batting line-up.

In the spin department too they have a lot of options in Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Axar Patel and Sandeep Lamichhane.