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Fractured opinions over Azhar's injury

There seem to be conflicting opinions on the finger injury Mohammad Azharuddin sustained yesterday while batting for the Board President's XI in the three-day warm-up match against the visiting South Africans.

The former India captain, who was recalled only yesterday to the side for the first Test against the Proteas, was hit on the glove by a quick lifter from Morganthau Hayward.

Orthopaedic specialist J A Pachori of Bombay Hospital, who first treated Azhar, said it was a simple injury which would require 48 hours of rest. But a subsequent diagonisis by another orthopaedic specialist, Dr Nitin Gajjar, who runs a private clinic, revealed that the finger was fractured and there was extensive damage to the soft tissue.

That diagnosis ruled Azharuddin out of contention for the first Test, starting on February 24 in Bombay. But it is still not clear whether the batsman's finger is fractured.

Dr Pachori today insisted there is no fracture. "There's no fracture. It is a nail-bed injury of the thumb," he asserted.

"We wanted to observe him for 48 hours. As a lot of ice was put on it, it was difficult to see because of the blackening; I will be seeing Azhar tomorrow," he added.

But Dr Gajjar, who is a specialist on hand fractures, insisted there is a fracture. "It is a small chip fracture and the small tissues are damaged," he said, adding that Azhar would need rest for seven days.

Meanwhile, word from the Board of Control for Cricket in India is that there is no fracture. "It's not a fracture," said a board official late this evening.