‘Injuries a reality but bench strength impressive’

‘Injuries a reality but bench strength impressive’
Bengaluru: The first week of DLF-IPL 2010 is behind us. Apart from scoring a number of firsts, the tournament will have to wait a little longer to welcome back a few of the stars.

Both Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captains of their franchises, are set to miss a couple of games. Then there are the unfortunate cases of Graeme Smith and Dimitri Mascarenhas. Daredevils bowler Ashish Nehra too will be missing the early part of the tournament.

The unfortunate series of injuries has drawn sympathy from Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi.

'Cricket is a game that changes moment to moment and there is nothing that you and I can do about injuries. Injuries happen in a game and we hope they don't happen. But players have to be rehabilitated. Again you know there are a lot of players sitting on the bench and we have huge bench-strength. [MS] Dhoni unfortunately is going to be out for a few games and he needs to rest and recuperate but that's the game of cricket,' opined Modi in an interview to a TV channel.

For Delhi Daredevils stand-in captain Dinesh Karthik too the injuries typified the vagaries of sport. ``Injury can happen anytime, even in the nets you can get injured by a fast bowler. It’s not obviously something that can be planned [for]. Dhoni, for example, got injured while batting,'' said Karthik.

Karthik's opposite number, Suresh Raina is prepared to swim against the tide and take a hit as long as he gets to play at all times.

"We will miss him [Dhoni], no doubt. When a player gives his hundred percent in the field, he will also risk injury. Injuries are in God's hands. I will play as long as I am fit. The more I play, the better it is," said Raina.