Dwayne Bravo out of IPL with hamstring injury

West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the 2017 IPL because of his ongoing rehabilitation for the hamstring injury he suffered in December. Bravo has been with his IPL team - Gujarat Lions - this season but has not played a game, and his captain Suresh Raina said it was perhaps time to think about a replacement.

"No Dwayne Bravo. He's been doing proper rehab and it might take three-four weeks, so he might be out of the tournament," Raina said at the toss of Lions' game against Kings XI Punjab in Rajkot. "So now we have to talk to the management and think about a replacement."

A couple of hours after Lions lost to Kings XI, Bravo put out a statement confirming his withdrawal from the tournament this year. "While recovery is going well and I have made vast improvement and have participated in team trainings with the Lions, my body is not ready to perform at its fullest potential," Bravo said.

Lions are presently at the bottom of the table, having won only two out of their first seven games. In 2016, their debut IPL season, Lions had finished on top of the league with nine wins in 14 games, but did not make the final. Bravo had been their second highest wicket-taker last year, with 17 wickets.

Bravo suffered the injury while fielding for Melbourne Renegades - his BBL team - against Perth Scorchers on December 29. He had been stationed on the off-side boundary, and injured himself when he ran across and lowered himself to field a ball. He clutched at his hamstring as soon as he went down, and had to be taken off on a MediCab.

Bravo has not played a match since, missing the Pakistan Super League and West Indies' fixtures in the lead up to the IPL. With West Indies not part of the Champions Trophy in June, their next fixtures are a home series against Afghanistan at that same time.