BCCI named star RCB all-rounder as replacement for Washington Sundar on Zimbabwe tour
India are on a tour to Zimbabwe for the three-match ODI series, which will start on Thursday, August 18 with the first ODI. All three ODIs will be played at Harare Cricket Club. The Indian left for Zimbabwe on August 13.
However, ahead of the first ODI, the spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the series due to a shoulder injury. The 22-year-old was part of the English county season, playing for Lancashire. On August 10, during a match against Worcestashire, he injured his shoulder during a dive to stop a ball.
It resulted in him missing yet another international series for India. However, now the selection committee has named his replacement for the series. Star RCB all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has got his maiden call for the Indian team. The 28-year-old had a really good IPL season for RCB recently.
UPDATE - Shahbaz Ahmed replaces injured Washington Sundar for Zimbabwe series.
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2022
More details here - https://t.co/Iw3yuLeBYy #ZIMvIND
He played all 16 games for the RCB in 2020 and was good with the bat, finishing the innings with Dinesh Karthik. Shahbaz scored 219 runs at an average of 27.38 and picked up four wickets with the ball. The BCCI announced the replacement on their official Twitter handle.
India will play three ODI matches on August 18, 20 and 22, respectively. KL Rahul will lead the Men in Blue and Shikhar Dhawan will be his deputy. India has given rest to most of the senior players and they will directly play in the Asia Cup.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yuzi Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik are given a break. Even the head coach, Rahul Dravid, has been given a rest and VVS Laxman will do the head coach job on the tour. India will start their Asia Cup campaign with a match against archrivals Pakistan on Sunday, August 28.
However, it will be an important series for KL Rahul and Deepak Chahar, as they are making their comebacks after recovering from injuries. Rahul is also part of the Indian team for the Asia Cup, while Chahar is in the reserve.