Powar, Ishant go plane hopping

Indian cricketers are struggling to battle injuries ahead Kanpur Test on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have been ruled out. Anil Kumble, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh are all recuperating from injuries.

Called in as cover for Kumble, Mumbai off-spinner Ramesh Powar had a tough time in reaching Kanpur, just like Ishant Sharma, who had gone to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Thursday evening. After spending four days at the NCA, the lanky bowler arrived in Kanpur on Tuesday afternoon, via Delhi.

Powar, on the other hand, was representing Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Visakhapatnam when he was asked to join the squad. He boarded a flight for Delhi barely 12 hours after Mumbai’s defeat to Bengal in the semifinal.

And as both the players met at the Delhi airport, both were visibly tired. As a result, while Powar chose to relax while listening to music during the flight to Kanpur, the towering Ishant — despite cramming his legs in the insufficient space — slept for a better part of the 90-minute journey.

Ironically, both Ishant and Powar, who were supposed to join the squad on Tuesday, reached before the rest of the team arrived by road from Lucknow.