Big blow to Sunrisers Hyderabad as Nehra ruled out of IPL

In what may come as a major setback to defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, fast bowler Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season due to a hamstring injury.

The 38-year-old sustained the injury during SRH's game against Rising Pune Supergiant on May 6 and has failed to recover from the same.

Confirming the news, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said that Nehra would not be able to play again in the ongoing season of the IPL.

"Ashish Nehra won't be fit for the remainder of the tournament," Moody said on the eve of their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders in the first eliminator in Bangalore.

Moody said that although they knew Nehra would play a pivotal role for the side going into the tournament , they were not expecting the left-arm pacer's IPL stint ending like this.

"Ashish Nehra has increasingly over the time been challenged with soft-tissue injuries, and that comes with age. As much as anything else, running in and bowling fast is not an easy thing to do when he has been challenged with a few niggles with regard to soft tissue," Moody said.

"We knew going into the tournament that Ashish would play a vital role for us, but we knew he wouldn't be available for every game. We knew we had to manage that. Sadly, he's broken down a lot sooner than we expected, not that we were expecting him to break down," he added.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh's participation also seems to be in doubt after he sustained an injury in his fingers against Mumbai Indians and missed the crucial game against Gujarat Lions.

Reflecting on Yuvraj's injury, Moody said that he would be undergoing a fitness test this evening.

"Yuvraj will be undergoing a fitness test this evening. We will be giving him obviously the opportunity to prove his fitness," Moody said.

While Nehra has notched up a total of eight wickets in six matches he played for the defending champions this season, Yuvraj amassed 243 runs in 11 IPL games so far.