Wrist injury rules Pune's Smith out of IPL

Struggling Rising Pune Supergiants were dealt another major blow as batting mainstay Steve Smith was ruled out of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) following a wrist injury, according to Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday.

The Australia skipper is the fourth player to be ruled out of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side after England big-hitter Kevin Pietersen, South African Faf du Plessis and Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.

CA confirmed that Smith will return home.

"Steve has been struggling with pain in his right wrist for the last week during his stint in the IPL," CA Team Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager Alex Kountouris said in a statement.

"We have been working with his IPL franchise Pune to monitor this and unfortunately it has not resolved. As such, he will return home from India for further assessment and treatment ahead of the Tour of the West Indies.

"From the information we have so far, this doesn't appear to be a serious injury but we are keen to give him the time to recover and rehabilitate before heading to the West Indies at the end of May," he added.

--IANS

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