The spin all-rounder Washington Sundar, who is part of India’s ODI team, has tested positive for Covid-19 in India before travelling to South Africa. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked the off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who is part of the Test squad, to stay back in South Africa for the three-match ODI series.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder tested positive for Covid-19 in Bangalore before boarding the flight to South Africa and has gone into isolation. Sundar last played international cricket in March 2021 and was sidelined due to injury. Sundar played for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 and the selection committee picked him for the South Africa ODI series.
Yadav, who has been asked to stay back, plays a similar role of off-spin all-rounder and has immense domestic experience under his belt. However, he hasn't played a single ODI in over five years. The Delhi-born spin all-rounder has played just one ODI so far in 2016 against New Zealand in which he took one wicket for eight runs in four overs he bowled as the Kiwis were bundled out for 79. He is a handy batter down the order with a List A average 23.03 can prove to be a good option for India.
Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Venkatesh Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Yuzuvendra Chahal, and Prasidh Krishna were the other players due to travel with Sundar on the flight from Bengaluru.
The ODI series is scheduled to start on January 19 and will end on the January 23. The previous ODI series in South Africa in 2018 was completely dominated by India with a scoreline of 5-1 under Virat Kohli's captaincy. The upcoming ODI series will also mark KL Rahul's ODI captaincy debut as he was given the leadership position after Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the South Africa tour due to injury.
