Harshal Patel unavailable for selection for third T20I due to injury
West Indies and India are currently involved in the five-match T20I series. The two teams locked horns in the second game of the series on Monday (August 1) in St Kitts. The game, even before it began, was in the news for getting delayed not once but twice due to delays in the luggage arrival of the teams. The match was scheduled to start at 8 PM IST but ended up starting at 11 PM IST. The hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first even as India once again came out to play without their T20 specialist bowler Harshal Patel.
Despite including an extra pacer in the playing XI, Rohit Sharma stated that the visitors decided to go with Avesh Khan. Many were left perplexed with the non-inclusion of Harshal Patel despite being one of the first-choice bowlers in T20Is for India now. However, the BCCI has now shared an update regarding the same stating that the pacer is sustaining a rib injury at the moment.
The board also informed that he will not be available for selection for the third T20I to be played on Tuesday (August 2). “Harshal Patel has a rib injury and is unavailable for selection for the 2nd and 3rd T20I. He is being monitored by the BCCI medical team,” BCCI’s tweet read.
India drop Ravi Bishnoi in the second T20I
Meanwhile, India decided to leave out leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for the second T20I against West Indies to include Avesh Khan. Rohit Sharma stated it to be unfortunate while saying that the decision was purely made based on the conditions on offer at the venue. “Bishnoi misses out unfortunately and Avesh Khan comes in. It’s unfortunate that he misses out but we are trying whatever we can from the team’s perspective,” he said.
Further, Rohit also explained the team’s decision to open the innings with Suryakumar Yadav stating that the management wants the players to be flexible to bat at any position. “We want the guys to be able to bat anywhere and don’t want them to be batting in specific positions. We want the guys to be flexible, there are two ways to look at it depending on certain players,” Rohit added.
