Team India’s wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been ruled out of the rest of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka after hurting his left knee while trying to restrict a ball near the boundary ropes during the 1st T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
However, Samson was taken for scans on Wednesday afternoon and based on a specialist’s opinion he has been advised to take rest and rehabilitation as well. Notably, Vidarbha wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has been included in India’s squad as Samson’s replacement.
He will be a cover for the young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan for the next two games as well. However, Jitesh Sharma, who had a good debut IPL season for Punjab Kings in 2022, smashed 234 runs which came at a strike rate of 163.64. The veteran is known for his hard-hitting style and he has featured in 76 T20s overall also.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, who found a place for himself in the playing 11 for the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai, was unable to capitalise on this opportunity. He came to bat at four in the powerplay after the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav. He had the ideal opportunity to bat deep into the innings but was dismissed for a mere 5 runs by Dhananjaya de Silva as well.
However, Team India lead the three-match T20I series 1-0 following their nail-biting two-run win in the opener as well. Meanwhile, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is currently leading India for their T20 series against Sri Lanka in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma.
India’s updated squad for Sri Lanka T20Is:
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
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