It is unclear how long Ashwin will be sidelined for

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

India have called up Harbhajan Singh as a cover for Ravichandran Ashwin for the second and third ODIs against South Africa after the latter suffered a side strain during the first ODI in Kanpur on Sunday.

Ashwin sustained the injury when he dived to stop a drive down the ground in his fourth over. Despite being some in some pain and discomfort, Ashwin bowled a few more deliveries before leaving the ground.

Ashwin did return in the 38th over when South Africa captain AB de Villiers began to steal the show, but he trudged off the field once again after bowling one more over.

While it is unclear how severe Ashwin’s injury is and how long he will be out of action for, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued a release, which said: “After making a detailed assessment of the injury, the BCCI medical team will confirm the time frame required for Ashwin to fully recovery from the injury.”

Harbhajan will join the Indian team for the second ODI in Indore on Wednesday and will also be part of the squad for the third ODI in Rajkot on Sunday.