IPL 2017: Injured KKR opener Chris Lynn may still play a role this season, says coach Jacques Kallis

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders new-found opening sensation Chris Lynn has not yet been ruled out of the Indian Premier League, head coach Jacques Kallis said on Wednesday. The initial investigation of scan on his left shoulder, which suffered a third injury in 18 months, has not revealed any serious injury as was speculated. “It’s not as bad as we thought. Our medical staff is working overtime to see how quickly we can get him ready. Good chance that he will still play a role in this season for us,” Kallis said on the eve of their first home match, against Kings XI Punjab. [caption id=“attachment_3374084” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  KKR’s Gautam Gambhir (L) and Chris Lynn during their match against Gujarat Lions. Sportzpics[/caption] Lynn is set to miss Thursday’s match and is likely to be replaced by Bangladeshi allrounder Shakib Al Hasan. The legendary South African Kallis, however, chose not to give a time frame of Lynn’s return and said they do not want to rush the Aussie batsman, who had undergone a surgery on the same shoulder in 2014. “Look it’s too early to assess. We are not going to rush him. We will see when he feels he’s ready to play. When our medical staff assess that he has the possibility of playing we will certainly play him when we can.” Lynn became KKR’s latest batting sensation after hitting a 41-ball 93 not out in a record 184-run opening partnership with Gautam Gambhir that helped the team post a 10-wicket win over Gujarat Lions in their opening match on 7 April. Lynn then made a 14-ball 32 against Mumbai Indians and is currently leading the run charts with 125 runs. But to KKR’s horror, Lynn injured his shoulder while attempting a diving catch off Jos Buttler near the boundary. Lynn was seen clutching his left shoulder in pain as he was taken off the field and was later seen with physio Andrew Leipus with his shoulder strapped in ice packs. The Aussie, who made a T20I debut in January 2014, had undergone an operation on left shoulder in the same year for a rotator cuff problem. The Queenslander captain had a similar situation in 2015 when he injured the same shoulder during fielding. But after regaining fitness, he became 2015-16 Big Bash League’s leading run-scorer with 378 runs at an average of 54.00 and strike-rate of 173.