Team India have added Tamil Nadu duo Shahrukh Khan and Sai Kishore to its squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies. The Men in Blues will play three ODIs followed by the same number of T20I matches.
With the COVID cases on the surge, many series and tournaments have been affected in the last couple of years with players testing COVID positive midway through the series. Owing to the same, the duo have been added as reserve players.
While a couple of new names were drafted into the squad, Shahrukh Khan was unlucky to miss out. He has been in stellar form in the ongoing domestic season leading Tamil Nadu’s batting from the front.
The youngster, who played for Punjab Kings in the IPL, slammed a last-ball six in the final to take Tamil Nadu to glory. Shahrukh Khan also concluded the Vijay Hazare Trophy season with the highest strike rate – 186.03.
“The BCCI wants to have all its bases covered. With the third wave still persisting, the Board cannot take a chance, and Shahrukh and Sai Kishore have been added to the squad. Sai Kishore will be a good handy bowler at the nets too,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Sai Kishore, on the other hand, has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit. The left-arm spinner was part of Chennai Super Kings in the last couple of seasons, however, didn’t find any game time due to the presence of Ravindra Jadeja.
It has also been reported that Tamil Nadu will soon announce replacements for the duo for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.