Daredevils prepared to wait on injured Ross Taylor

The IPL franchise, Delhi Daredevils, is unlikely to seek a replacement for injured New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor, who broke his forearm during the drawn third Test against South Africa in Wellington earlier this week.

Taylor, the 28-year-old middle-order batsman from Wellington, was struck on his left forearm by a short pitched delivery off Morne Morkel on the fourth day of the Wellington Test, ruling him out of the remainder of the Test match. X-rays confirmed a fracture and Taylor underwent a surgery on Tuesday.

Confirming Taylor’s surgery, New Zealand Cricket's medical director, Ian Murphy, had revealed that the right-handed middle-order batsman might take four weeks to start training again. Hence ruling him out of the initial stages of the just to begin lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), starting in Chennai on April 4.

A senior Delhi Daredevils official told the media reporters on Tuesday that the franchise was closely following Taylor’s injury and is hopeful that he will be fit for the final stages of the high-profile Twenty20 tournament.

"We have got a full update on Ross Taylor's injury. His surgery has gone well and he is expected to be fit for training after four weeks,” said a senior Daredevils officials during a media encounter after Tuesday’s training session at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

“We are not exactly seeking any replacement for Taylor as of now. May be he will be available during the final stages of the tournament but we are prepared to wait," he added further.

The Daredevils had bought Ross Taylor from Shilpa Shetty’s Rajasthan Royals during IPL’s trading window last month.

Ross Taylor, who has so far played 39 T20 Internationals for New Zealand, had recently recovered from a calf injury, he had sustained during one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home in early February.

The franchise will be also without the likes of hard-hitting Australian opener David Warner, Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene and prolific England batsman Kevin Pietersen in the initial few matches, as all of them will be on national duty.

The tournament gets underway on April 4, with a match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, while Daredevils will play their tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 5.