Lynn’s IPL hopes rise on injury news

BRISBANE, Australia: Australia’s explosive Twenty20 batsman Chris Lynn does not need shoulder surgery, reports said Friday, boosting his chance of taking up a lucrative Indian Premier League contract.

Lynn consulted with specialists in Brisbane this week to assess his right shoulder which was dislocated when he fell awkwardly playing for Australia against New Zealand in a T20 tri-series final in Auckland on Wednesday.

“Chris got a positive result from the doctors who said he will not need surgery,” Lynn’s manager Stephen Atkinson told Brisbane’s Courier Mail.“Chris is disappointed at missing the Pakistan Super League but he will be making every effort to play in the Indian Premier League and, if selected, the five One-Dayers for Australia in England in June.”

Lynn’s latest setback follows a string of serious shoulder injuries. He reportedly has some minor nerve inflammation around the joint that is under treatment, and will start rehabilitation work on the shoulder as soon as that settles down.

Although Lynn, 27, has withdrawn from the Pakistan Super League which started in the United Arab Emirates this week, he is hopeful of joining the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in the first week in April.If he withdraws from the IPL without travelling to India he will forfeit his $1.5 million contract, the highest deal for an Australian player for this year’s glitzy tournament.