Sanju to replace Rahul in T20I squad against Windies

Trinidad: For the T20I series against West Indies, India's wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been named to KL Rahul's slot after the latter tested Covid-19 positive, IANS reported.

Samson was in the ODI squad against Windies and scored 12, 54 and 6 not out in the series, which concluded recently, and India won 3-0.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a statement saying, "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson as a replacement for KL Rahul in the T20I squad for the ongoing West Indies series."

Rahul, who was recovering from a sports hernia surgery in late June and was named in the initial squad for the T20I series. But Covid-19 infection called for rest and recovery for him.

BCCI said, "KL Rahul was earlier named in the squad, and his participation in the T20I series was subject to fitness. The batter tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has been advised rest by the BCCI medical team."

Rahul was out of cricket since IPL 2022 Eliminators, in which debutants Lucknow Super Giants led by him, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He was named captain later cor the five-match T20I series in India against South Africa in June, but an injury in the right groin a day before the first match made him back off from the team. He was not included in the England tour also because of the sports hernia surgery.

The first T20I against the West Indies is scheduled on Friday at the Brian Lara Stadium. The next two matches will be played in St Kitts and the last two in Lauderhill, Miami, USA.

India's squad for T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.