Right ahead of the five-match T20I series opener between India and West Indies on Friday (July 29), Sanju Samson has been added to the Men in Blues' squad as KL Rahul's replacement.
"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," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
The star from Kerala was a member of the team for the just-finished ODI series against the West Indies but was not included in the T20I squad.
Samson has been a find of IPL where he has smashed a total of 158 sixes so far.
Earlier, Rahul tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of his return to the international side for the T20I series against West Indies.
Rahul recently recovered from surgery in Germany and hit the nets for the Caribbean tour. The 30-year-old was named for the T20I series which is scheduled to begin on July 29. However, his return was subjected to passing the fitness test.
Rahul hasn't played any competitive match since Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. He missed out the home T20I series against South Africa and England tour due to injury.
Earlier, on July 21, former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman posted photos of him addressing the candidates attending the Level-3 coach certification course at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
India's T20I squad:
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, Arshdeep Singh.
West Indies' T20 squad:
Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice Captain), Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
