The flamboyant Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Australia due to some stiffness in his lower back. However, the BCCI has announced that the veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will replace him for the ODIs, but no replacement has been announced for the T20I squad, which is now down to 14 members. However, Pandya will undergo strength and conditioning training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru from next week.
Team India is scheduled to lock horns with Australia for two T20Is and five ODIs with the T20I series will be commencing on February 24 in Visakhapatnam.
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Last year, missed a decent amount of competitive cricket as he faced the back injury during India’s Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai in September. He was then scheduled to make an international comeback during the ODI series in Australia but due to his controversial statements on a talk show which landed him in a provisional suspension, delayed his comeback as he then played in the third ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui.
With his back injury, there will be some serious threats be hovering around his participation in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting March 23, as it will be followed by ICC World Cup 2019 which is scheduled to commence on May 30. However, Mumbai Indians (MI) will be expecting a speedy recovery of the all-rounder as he is one of their crucial cogs in the tournament.
Indian T20I squad:
Virat (Capt), Rohit (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Sidharth Kaul, Mayank Markande
Indian Squad for the first two ODIs:
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohamed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, Siddharth Kaul, KL Rahul
Indian Squad for the last three ODIs:
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant
