Kolkata: Italy captain Wayne Madsen is “doubtful” for the remainder of the league stage after suffering a shoulder dislocation during their 73-run defeat to Scotland in their T20 World Cup debut here, head coach John Davison said Monday.
Davison said that the experienced skipper could still travel with the squad and join the dugout as “coaching staff”.
Madsen injured himself in the fourth over of Scotland’s innings while diving at mid-wicket to stop a boundary. He landed awkwardly on the hard practice pitches and immediately clutched his shoulder before walking off the field with his arm supported in a makeshift sling.
He was later ruled out of the match as Italy chased 208 with effectively one batter short and finished at 134 in 16.4 overs.
“He dislocated his shoulder. The physio managed to get it back in, but he’ll have to go and get more scans to see how serious it is,” Davison said in the post-match media interaction.
“I think it’ll be doubtful…. I’m not going to say he’s out, but I think it’ll be doubtful if you dislocate your shoulder in cricket. It’s going to be pretty tough to come back from, but we’ll see what the scans say.
“A captain going down like that in the start of the game was a tough one for us. Things weren’t really going our way either.”
Despite the setback, Davison hopes Madsen will continue to remain with the group as Italy travel to Mumbai for their next fixture against Nepal at the Wankhede Thursday, before returning to Kolkata to face England (February 16) and West Indies (February 19) in their last two league matches.
“I hope so. He’s an integral part of the team. He’s a very experienced head. We might have to give him a red shirt, but he can join the coaching staff.”
Italy showed fight during the chase despite the early blow and the absence of their skipper.
The Manenti brothers — Ben (52) and Harry (37) — added a brisk 73-run partnership off 47 balls to keep them in the hunt before Scotland fought back.
Davison felt the target was within reach at one stage.
“200 on that wicket is achievable and I think we were with the Menenti boys’ partnership and then with Grant Stewart still there who can hit a big ball. I was still hopeful that we could get back into the contest. It would only take a couple of big overs, which are very achievable on that ground.
“But having said that, it was our first game in the tournament. A few guys in that team haven’t played in front of over 100 people, I suppose, before in a stadium. So it’s a great experience,” he added.
