Ishan bowled India to glory with injured foot, says coach

KOLKATA: A foot injury had almost derailed his U-19 World Cup campaign but pacer Ishan Porel was desperate to contribute in Indian team’s success so he chose to play through pain, his coach Bibhash Das revealed on Saturday.

Having ruptured his out step tissue on his landing leg (left), Porel made a comeback in 12 days from an injury that usually takes three weeks to heal and his 6-2-17-4 skittled Pakistan out for 69 in the semi-final. In the final on Saturday, Porel (2/30) dismissed both the Australia openers — Jack Edwards (28) and Max Bryant (14) — inside the Powerplay before India bundled them out for 216, en route to a commanding eight-wicket win with 67 balls to spare.

“He’s not fully recovered, and bowled with pain on his foot. Such a kind of injury would take a minimum three weeks to recover,” Das, who had a word with Porel after the injury, said. “It’s not actually an ankle injury. He has a tear on his out step of the left leg. He bowled with a heavily taped leg with insole in his shoe, so that he does not aggravate his injury. “It’s only because of the advanced treatment in New Zealand that he could play in the three knockout matches,” added the coach.

Das feels his ward should skip at least the first two matches of the Vijay Hazare domestic one-day tournament to let the injury heal completely.

“I would say he should give up at least a couple of matches in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. It will help him recover,” he said. Hailing from a family with strong roots in sports, Porel was a former table tennis player before his good height made him a natural choice for a fast bowler.