Dravid injury new blow to embattled India by CricketArchive staff reporter

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Player:	RS Dravid
Event:	India in South Africa 2006/07

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DateLine: 28th November 2006

 

Indian captain Rahul Dravid will miss the remaining matches of the one-day international series against South Africa after injuring a finger during the third international in Cape Town on Sunday. ``It is a major blow to us," said Rajan Nair, India's media spokesman. "He is a mainstay of our team and our captain." VVS Laxman will replace Dravid but Nair said he was not sure when he would arrive. "We only took the decision this (Monday) evening to call for a replacement and I expect to hear from my board about travel plans on Tuesday." Dravid will remain in South Africa for treatment and it is hoped he will be fit for a three-match Test series that starts December 15. He will miss the last two one-day internationals in Port Elizabeth Wednesday and Centurion Sunday, as well as a Twenty20 match in Johannesburg Friday. He will probably also miss a three-day warm-up match in Kimberley ahead of the first Test in Johannesburg. The Indian captain suffered a fracture to the middle finger of his right hand when he dropped a hard chance from Shaun Pollock off Harbhajan Singh while fielding at slip Sunday. Despite the injury, he top-scored with 63 in India's innings, while most of the rest of the batsmen crumbled in a 106-run defeat. After a painful night he was X-rayed Monday. Virender Sehwag will take over the captaincy after himself missing the first two matches of the tour because of a finger injury. He was out for nought Sunday in his first innings of the series. India trail 2-0 in the series, with one match rained out, and their batsmen have struggled against South Africa's pace bowlers, falling more than 100 runs short of their opponents in both completed matches.