Injured Jacobs out of Nokia Champions League T20
Davy Jacobs, Mumbai Indians' South African wicketkeeper, has injured himself during a training session and will miss the rest of the Champions League Twenty20
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Sep-2011
Davy Jacobs stood up to the stumps to Lasith Malinga during the 2011 IPL • AFP
Mumbai Indians' injury worries have deepened with South African opener Davy Jacobs being ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20 with a hip injury.
Jacobs was stretchered off the ground after picking up a hip injury while batting in the nets on Sunday, a day before Mumbai Indians' second match of the tournament, against Trinidad & Tobago in Bangalore.
Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians captain, confirmed the team was trying to find a replacement. "He's out of the competition," Harbhajan said after Mumbai's final-ball win on Sunday. "I think our management is looking into the matter. We have to have another player in the side; we only have 13 players."
Jacobs joins a long list of injured players for Mumbai Indians, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ali Murtaza, Dhawal Kulkarni, Suryakumar Yadav, Pawan Suyal, Dhawal Kulkarni and Aditya Tare. The franchise has been allowed to play five foreign players during the Champions League because of the number of injuries to Indian players. With Jacobs injured, however, they now have only six foreign players in their squad.
Harbhajan compared the situation to the one India faced on their recent injury-ravaged tour of England. "Earlier Dhoni had a very tough time in England when the injury list was increasing, and we finished the tour with ten players [injured]; it gets very difficult for any captain. Dhoni was fighting alone there; hopefully it's not my turn now."
Mumbai have a support staff filled with prominent former players, and Harbhajan joked that the team might have to rope them in as cover. "If there are one or two more injuries, we don't know whether we will be able to put up a show," he said. "Might have to bring Jonty Rhodes in then, [Shaun] Pollock also ... and Robin Singh as well."
Jacobs was signed by Mumbai Indians in the January auction ahead of the 2011 IPL, after he had finished second in the run-charts during the 2010 Champions League, leading Warriors to the final. Jacobs only managed 92 runs in six innings during the IPL but impressed with his wicketkeeping. He will fly back to South Africa on Tuesday. "Last year's (Champions League T20) changed my life. Very grateful, will always be a special tournament for me. So sad to leave now! But will be back," Jacobs tweeted on Tuesday morning.