Hardik Pandya Ruled Out of Australia Series Due to Lower Back Stiffness, Ravindra Jadeja to Replace Him in India ODI Squad
India will host Australia for two T20s and five ODIs, starting Sunday in Visakhapatnam.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of upcoming T20 Internationals and One-Day Internationals (ODI) against Australia. The all-rounder is suffering lower back stiffness and thus been released from the squad. While the Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not named Pandya’s replacement for T20Is, Ravindra Jadeja will replace him in ODIs. No Request Made to ICC to Ban Pakistan From ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: BCCI Official.
The 25-year-old all-rounder will now undergo strength and conditioning training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru from next week. It is a minor setback for the team and Pandya, who returned to action during the limited-overs series in New Zealand after being handed a provisional suspension for his loose talk on women on a TV show.
"The BCCI Medical team decided to rest the all-rounder and let him undergo strength and conditioning work for his lower back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Mr. Pandya will begin his strength work from next week," said the BCCI in a statement. India vs Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: CoA to Meet Tomorrow to Take a Call.
"The T20I squad will now consist of 14 members. Mr. Ravindra Jadeja has been named replacement for Hardik Pandya for the 5 ODIs," it added.
The 25-year-old has so far played 11 Tests, 45 ODIs and 38 T20s. His absence from the ODI squad gives Jadeja another opportunity to stake his claim in the squad for the World Cup to be played in the UK in May-July.
India will host Australia for two T20s and five ODIs, starting Saturday in Visakhapatnam. The second T20 will be played in Bengaluru on February 27. The five ODIs will be staged in Hyderabad (March 2), Nagpur (March 5), Ranchi (March 8), Mohali (March 10) and Delhi (March 13).
(Inputs PTI)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2019 03:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).