All-rounder Washington Sundar on Monday was ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I Series to be played in Kolkata from 16 February against West Indies.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer suffered a left hamstring muscle strain during fielding in the third ODI against the West Indies played in Ahmedabad on Friday, said Board of Control for Cricket in India’s secretary Jay Shah in a statement.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Kuldeep Yadav as Washington’s replacement. Kuldeep played in the third ODI against West Indies, making a comeback to international cricket after a break due to injury and loss of form.
India are already without KL Rahul and Axar Patel for the series. Rahul had sustained an upper left hamstring strain during fielding in the second ODI while Axar has resumed the final stage of his rehabilitation after recently recovering from Covid-19. BCCI had said that they will be at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further management of their injury. The selectors had named Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda as replacements for them.
The injury for Washington is the latest in the series of blows. After the first ODI he had spoken about the disappointment of missing out on the T20 World Cup and then subsequently could not travel to South Africa due to Covid-19. He then made an impressive comeback in the preceding three-match ODI series against the West Indies, and he was looking to build on his steady all-round show, with a clear focus on nailing his spot for the two World Cups in the next year and a half.
In the updated squad, the BCCI statement had Rishabh Pant listed as the vice captain with Rahul too absent for the series.
India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain) (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!