Shamar Joseph ruled out of ILT20 due to toe injury

Dubai, Jan 30 (IANS) West Indies pace bowler Shamar Joseph has been ruled out of the ILT20 due to a toe injury sustained during the Gabba Test against Australia.

Joseph was scheduled to join his team Dubai Capitals after the Test series but the toe injury has altered his plans. The West Indian will now return home for recovery before setting his sights on the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he was signed by Peshawar Zalmi as a replacement for Gus Atkinson.

Joseph picked up the injury on the third day of the Gabba Test when he was hit on his toe by Mitchell Starc yorker. The 24-year-old had a suspected toe fracture but was cleared of it on the fourth day of the Test.

However, Joseph battled through excruciating pain on the fourth day to deliver a spell that would go down as one of the greatest in Test history. His remarkable figures of 7 for 68 inspired the West Indies to a historic eight-run win, their first win on Australian soil since 1997.

Following his Gabba heroics, Joseph said he is committed to playing for West Indies even if he gets lucrative deals from T20 leagues. "I will always be here to play Test cricket for the West Indies. I am not afraid to say this live. There will be times when T20 might come around and Test cricket will be there … but I will always be available to play for the West Indies no matter how much money comes towards me," the pacer was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.