Reports : Ajinkya Rahane to miss Syed Mushtaq Ali knockouts with thigh injury

As BCCI is set to host the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League amidst the commotion created by elections around that time and the precaution hanging above them for an upcoming World Cup, the last thing that the franchises would want would be injuries to their main players. After AB de Villiers suffered a back injury to stop the hearts of the Royal Challengers Bangalore fans, it is Rahane now giving early jitters to the RR fans.

As per TOI reports, the Mumbai batsman is injured and wouldn’t be available for the knockout phases of the domestic T20 trophy. "He has informed the selectors about his unavailability due to injury," a source said, reported TOI.

Though Rahane hasn’t been in a blistering form in the tournament scoring just 58 runs in six games with the highest score being 31, his experience would have been handy. The 31-year-old wasn’t in the best of his form for RR either last season, where he scored 370 runs in 15 matches, but his absence could be a huge blow for the side that is welcoming Steve Smith after his year-long suspension.

Rahane would be replaced by Shreyas Iyer now to captain the side. The Delhi Capitals skipper has been in phenomenal form garnering a massive 350 runs in six matches, which included two centuries.

The Royals would kick off their IPL campaign against Kings XI Punjab on March 27.