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India have suffered a huge blow minutes before the first ODI against Bangladesh on Sunday as star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the entire One Day International series owing to an injury. Pant was released following consultation with the BCCI medical team and no replacement has been sought.
However, Pant will be back for the two-match Test series which will be kick off from November 14. Meanwhile, India's star all-rounder Axar Patel has also missed the first ODI as he was not available for the opener as per BCCI.
“In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought. Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI,” BCCI tweeted.
While India have been bolstered by the presence of Sharma, former captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain KL Rahul as they have taken field without wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and all-rounder Axar Patel. Although the exact nature of injuries haven’t been revealed, Pant and Patel have been ruled out of the ODI series and first ODI respectively.
According to sources, Axar is nursing a bruised rib after taking a hit while batting at the nets. Though no specific reason was stated for the 25-year-old Pant's release, he has been the only first team all-format player to have not got a break after the T20 World Cup in Australia last month.
While the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested after India's semi-final defeat to England in the T20 showpiece, Pant flew with the team to New Zealand for a composite six-match limited overs series.
Talking about the match, Bangladesh skipper Litton Das won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the first ODI. Star pacer Kuldeep Sen has made his ODI debut for India,
India's playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Sen.
Bangladesh's playing XI: Litton Das (c), Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain.
