Ishan Kishan, Shahrukh Khan added to India’s Squad for 1st ODI against WI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday roped in wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Shahrukh Khan to the Indian squad for the series opener against West Indies.
India and West Indies are scheduled to play three matches ODI series in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, starting February 6.
The Indian cricket board confirmed the same with an official statement, which read: “The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Ishan Kishan and Shahrukh Khan to India’s squad for the first ODI against the West Indies to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.”
Rohit Sharma, the full-time Indian limited-overs skipper, earlier in the day, confirmed that young wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan will be given the opportunity to open the innings with him in the 1st ODI.
“Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
It must be noted that all the changes to the Indian squad are being made due to a bit of mix-up that happened following the covid outbreak in the Indian camp. Seven members of the Indian contingent were infected with covid, of which three are playing members of the squad.
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Opener Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer along with three support staff and one member from reserves (Navdeep Saini) were tested covid positive on Wednesday. All the aforementioned are currently undergoing their isolation in Ahmedabad under the cautious eye of the BCCI medical team.
Meanwhile, BCCI also added Mayank Agarwal for the ODI series, however, he is still in a quarantine period owing to which he won’t open the innings.
“Mayank was added to the squad and he is still in isolation. He came (joined) late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory 3-day) quarantine. He has still not finished his quarantine.”
Team India is expected to make some changes to the squad in order to test a few players. Deepak Hooda might get the opportunity in the middle order to show his skills. The combination of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal is probable to be brought back to the ODI setup once again.
Shahrukh Khan, who has earned respect as a genuine finisher, can get some match time in the upcoming ODI series against West Indies.
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