West Indies didn't have a great day at the office in their opening Super 8 round game against England. The hosts lost the encounter by eight wickets as they couldn't defend 180 runs at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia. They will have to win both their remaining matches now against the USA and the West Indies but they are likely to be without their key opening batter Brandon King.
King got retired hurt in the fifth over of the innings after sustaining a side strain. He charged down to hit Sam Curran through cover but collapsed in pain after playing the shot before walking off the field later. He was looking in good touch having scored 23 runs off just 12 balls that included a 101-metre six off Reece Topley. King didn't return to field as well with Cricket West Indies confirming that he is struggling with side strain injury. "Brandon King has suffered a side strain and will not return to the field of play in this evening's match," the statement from CWI read.
Side strains take more than a week to fully heal and if that is the case, then the West Indies opener is certainly a major doubt for the rest of the T20 World Cup. However, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell hoped that King would be able 'pull through' for the next game while admitting that an injury to him is a 'worrying sign' for the team at this stage.
"Yes, a little bit worrying but hopefully he can pull through for the next game. We know how important a player he is for us," Powell said. The Caribbeans have five players in the standby for the World Cup - Andre Fletcher, Kyle Mayers, Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh Jr. and Matthew Forde. Among them, Fletcher and Mayers are like-for-like replacements in case King is indeed ruled out of the tournament.
