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All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Uttar Pradesh left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal have been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series in Bangladesh due to injuries.
Jadeja is still yet to recover from the knee surgery that he underwent in September, while Dayal has suffered a lower back issue. Both of them will continue to be under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team.
Bengal all-rounder, Shahbaz Ahmed, has been named as Jadeja’s replacement while Madhya Pradesh fast bowler Kuldeep Sen would be replacing Dayal in the ODI squad that begins on December 4 in Mirpur.
Kuldeep Sen and Shahbaz Ahmed made their international debut during the home ODIs against South Africa in September, and both of them are currently part of India’s ODI squad for the three-match series in New Zealand. Shahbaz has been in prolific form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, picking up 11 wickets in six matches at an economy of 4.87 across 51.2 overs. He has also contributed two half-centuries lower down the order with the bat.
At the time of the squad announcement, chief selector Chetan Sharma confirmed that Jadeja’s inclusion in the squad for Bangladesh series will be subject to his fitness. If he doesn’t recover from his injury and become fully match fit to line-up for the two-Test series that follows, it is likely that Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar could be included in the tour party.
Saurabh has been on the edge of the national team since February last year, following excellent returns since the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. He recently picked up nine wickets in the final game of the India A series against New Zealand to help the hosts to a 1-0 series win. Before that, he played a key role in UP’s run to the Ranji Trophy semi-final.
Saurabh has an impressive tally of 58 wickets across 12 Ranji Trophy games from two completed seasons. According to a member of the outgoing selection committee, one of Saurabh’s strength is his ability to wheel away tirelessly and bowl long spells.
33-year-old Jadeja had left India’s Asia Cup campaign after the group stages to undergo surgery because of a long-standing knee injury. Because of that, he was also not a part of India’s T20 World Cup campaign and he ultimately missed the entire tournament.
This is not the first time Jadeja has been troubled by his right knee. He had previously missed the ODI leg of India’s tour of the West Indies in July due to an injury to the same joint and he has since been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Jadeja was eventually named in both the ODI as well as Test squads for the tour of Bangladesh, but will now miss at least the limited-over games, scheduled for December 4, 7 and 10.
Kuldeep and Shahbaz were initially named in the squad for the 3-match ODI series in New Zealand starting 25th November in Auckland. However, they will now be a part of the squad travelling to Bangladesh. No replacements have been named for the ODI squad currently in New Zealand.
The updated squads are as below:
India’s squad for New Zealand ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik
India’s squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.
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