On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the Indian batter and deputy skipper, KL Rahul (due to hamstring injury) and left-arm spinner Axar Patel (recovering from Covid-19) have been ruled out of the T20I series against West Indies, the BCCI announced on Friday. Deepak Hooda and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been added to the Indian squad for the T20I series as the replacements for Rahul and Axar.
Announcing the same, BCCI tweeted: “KL Rahul and Axar Patel ruled out of @Paytm #INDvWI T20I Series. #TeamIndia. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rututaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda as replacements.”
🚨 NEWS 🚨: KL Rahul and Axar Patel ruled out of @Paytm #INDvWI T20I Series. #TeamIndia
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rututaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda as replacements.
More Details 🔽
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 11, 2022
KL Rahul missed the third and final ODI against West Indies with captain Rohit Sharma saying that India’s vice-captain was nursing a niggle. In the second ODI, after Rahul was on his way back to the dressing room after getting run out for 49, he was seen favoring his lower back. But the BCCI confirmed that Rahul injured his left hamstring while fielding and will be missing the three-match T20I series that starts February 16 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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Axar Patel, on the other hand, was on the road to recovery and was named in the T20I squad, but it turns out that the southpaw spinner will require some time off to recover completely.
In a press release regarding the same, BCCI said, “Rahul sustained an upper left hamstring strain during fielding in the 2nd ODI on 9th February 2022 while Axar has resumed the final stage of his rehabilitation after recently recovering from Covid-19. They will now head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further management of their injury.”
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Earlier, Tamil Nadu cricketers Shahrukh Khan and Sai Kishore were added to the T20I squad as the backup players for the West Indies series. India has already claimed the ODI series by 3-0 margin and the T20I contest will begin at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata from February 16.
India’s updated T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda.
