R Ashwin and M Vijay have been ruled out of Tamil Nadu's clash against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, beginning on December 23 in Visakhapatnam, with injuries. While Ashwin is suffering from sports hernia, Vijay is yet to recover from a shoulder injury that he suffered while fielding during the final Test against England in Chennai.
"Ashwin told me that he has sports hernia, and if he continues to play he may have to go for surgery," TNCA secretary Kasi Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo. "What he needs is rest. That's the diagnosis."
Viswanathan said Vijay was only 60 percent fit, and was hence advised against playing. "Even [as early as] yesterday evening, the BCCI support staff told us he was very unlikely to play," he said. "Even without the scan, they said he was only 60 percent fit. Today, they have confirmed and we have asked him to take rest."
The TNCA had included Vijay and Ashwin in their 16-member squad on December 18, the third day of the Test. "When they were playing the Test match, we didn't know [about their injuries]," Viswanathan said. "When they were available for the matches they were selected, that's all."
Vijay's shoulder injury meant he didn't open the innings in the Chennai Test, and eventually came out late on the third day at No.6. Ashwin bowled 69 overs in the match for one wicket and scored a half-century.
The duo's absence comes as a blow for Tamil Nadu, especially as Karnataka has named a full-strength squad featuring Karun Nair and KL Rahul, who made a record-breaking triple hundred and 199 respectively in the final Test, as well as Manish Pandey.