India suffered a big setback ahead of the first One Day International against England as pace bowling ace Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the match due to a mild ankle injury.
The lanky Ishant, who was man-of-the-series in the just-concluded Test series against Australia after capturing 15 wickets, has been advised rest for five days and his availability for the second match, in Indore on Monday, too is uncertain.
"Ishant Sharma has got a mild ankle sprain and he has been advised rest for five days. He is undergoing his rehabilitation at present and is making good progress. Hence, he would not be available for the first ODI against England", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement.
The BCCI did not name a substitute for the 20-year-old Ishant in the 15-member ODI squad, which has three specialist pacemen in Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh.
Ishant's injury could pave the way for R P Singh in the opening match in Rajkot on Friday.
Meanwhile, England seam bowler Ryan Sidebottom has also been ruled out of the opening match with an Achilles injury, a team spokesman said.
Sidebottom is yet to recover from the Achilles problem that has dogged him since the start of the Stanford Twenty20 competition in the Caribbean last month.
The tourists also have concerns over fast bowler Stuart Broad, who missed Tuesday's warm-up match with a sore knee after suffering the problem in the first warm-up game on Sunday where he bowled only four overs.
England team spokesman Andrew Walpole said the swelling in Broad's knee had been injected and is being monitored closely.
"At the moment we are hopeful that he'll be fit for the first match," he said.
"The plan for him is to bowl at nets tomorrow morning and see if there is any reaction to it."
England will play seven one-dayers and two Tests during their tour of India.