A Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra is likely to miss the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka due to a finger injury he sustained during the semi-final game against Pakistan.
Nehra is likely to get his finger operated and miss the first few weeks of the Indian Premier league.
India are set to take on Sri Lanka at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on April 2.
Since the injury was on his non-bowling hand, Nehra was able to get through three more overs in the match. However, there are worries he will not be able to field.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Nehra in the first XI during the semi-final, given that the man he replaced, R Ashwin, had been impressive in the two matches he had played in the tournament. Despite Nehra's performance of 2 for 33, and Munaf Patel's 2 for 40, India captain MS Dhoni said after the game that India had misjudged the pitch and should have played another spinner.
Ashwin may well have returned in place of either Nehra or Munaf for the final in any case, and will almost definitely be in the side if Nehra does not recover. The only other pace option India have is Sreesanth, who has been left on the sidelines since the first game of the tournament.
Nehra had missed the first two matches of the tournament with a sore back and was brought in for the group-stage game against Netherlands. Against South Africa in Nagpur, he went for 65 runs in 8.4 overs, 16 off which were scored in the last over of the game, consigning India to defeat. He was then left out for India's next two games, before returning for the semi-final.
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