Perth Scorchers seamer Jhye Richardson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Big Bash League with injury, putting his long-awaited return to international cricket under serious doubt.
The 27-year-old, who was this week named in Australia’s 13-player squad for the next month’s ODI series against the West Indies, pulled up sore after the Scorchers’ 23-run loss to the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on Wednesday evening.
Watch Australia v West Indies on Kayo Sports. Every Test, ODI and T20I Live with no ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
Weatherald speaks after wild performance | 02:21
Scans later revealed the injury was more severe than initially anticipated, with Richardson officially ruled out of the T20 tournament on Friday afternoon. It is currently unclear whether he will recover before the ODI series against the West Indies, which gets underway on February 2.
Richardson, who has represented Australia in three Tests and 15 ODIs since his international debut in 2017, has an unfortunate history with injury setbacks. After undergoing surgery on a troublesome right shoulder in 2020, the right-armer went under the knife again in March last year to mend his hamstring, subsequently missing the 2023 Indian Premier League, where he was set to play for the Mumbai Indians on a $270,000 contract.
Five years ago, the West Australian was ruled out of the 2019 World Cup in England after sustaining a shoulder injury before the marquee tournament, while he was also unavailable for last year’s campaign in India as he recovered from hamstring surgery.
Richardson, who was awarded a national contract earlier this year, made his most recent Test appearance during the 2021/22 Ashes campaign, taking a five-wicket haul in a 275-run victory over England at Adelaide Oval. He has played all eight matches for the Scorchers this summer, taking six wickets at 40.33 for the reigning champions.
Earlier this summer, Richardson was picked up by the Delhi Capitals for AU$890,000 at the IPL Auction.
