AUS vs IND: Ishant Sharma ruled out of Test series; T Natarajan added to ODI squad

The much-awaited India tour of Australia 2020-21 started with the first One Day International (ODI) which is currently being in progress at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Aussie skipper Aaron Finch has decided to bat first after winning the toss.

Meanwhile, ahead of the first ODI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released an update on Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. Veteran pacer Ishant has been ruled out from the upcoming 4-match Test series.

Rohit, on the other hand, will be assessed on December 11, after which a final call will be🔥 taken on him. The Border-Gavaskar trophy starts from December 17 in Adelaide and will end on Januarꦇy 17 next year.

“He is presently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Mr Rohit Sharma’s next assessment will be conducted on December 11th following which the BCCI will have clarity on his participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia,” the BCCI’s statement read as quoted by IT.

“Mr Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well, and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation,” the statement added.

Natarajan picked up as Saini’s back up

The selector have now included left-arm pacer T Natarajan into the ODI squad. Natarajan will be a part of India’s 50-over squad as a backup for Navdeep Saini, who had complained about a ‘back spasm’ to the BCCI.

Before flying to Australia, Natarajan was selected as one of the four net bowlers, along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi and Ishan Porel. However, the Tamil Nadu pacer was drafted in the T20I squad as Varun Chakravarthy’s replacement after the my🔯stery spinner was ruled out due🃏 to a shoulder injury.

Here is India’s revised ODI squad:

Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Mayan⛎k Agarwal, Virat Kohli (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep𒈔 Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.