The left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja who was initially not in the squad for the Australia series has been asked to join the squad to replace the injured Axar Patel. The opener of the series will be played on September 17 scheduled to take place in Chennai. Jadeja was also not included in the squad for the ODI and T20I’s against Sri Lanka.
The 23-year-old cricketer from Gujarat who was also in the squad that toured Sri Lanka suffered an ankle injury while playing football during the practice session. Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) in a press release said, “Axar sprained his left ankle during a practice session and has been advised rest. The BCCI medical team is monitoring his recovery.”
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Saturday named Ravindra Jadeja as the replacement for Axar Patel in the team for the first three ODIs in the five-match series against Australia starting tomorrow i.e. September 17, 2017, in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk in Chennai,” it further stated.
Earlier, the swashbuckling opener Shikhar Dhawan also opted out from the first three matches of the ODI series citing that her wife is unwell. The news was confirmed by BCCI in a press release which said, “Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan has requested to be released from the team for the first three ODIs of the Paytm Australia tour of India, 2017 to attend to his wife, who is unwell. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has decided not to name any replacement for Dhawan in Indian Cricket Team.”
The men in blue are in good form decimating the Sri Lankan team 5-0 in an away series. They will look to continue their good run in the Australia series as well. The first three matches will be played in Chennai, Kolkata and Indore followed by the other two in Bangalore and Nagpur.
Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
