India were dealt a double blow on Saturday with seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar being ruled out of the three-match T20 series against Australia while Ajinkya Rahane failed to recover from an injury that forced the BCCI to name Gurkeerat Singh Mann (in pic) as cover for the in-form batsman.
Himachal Pradesh all-rounder Rishi Dhawan has been named as replacement for Kumar, who is likely to be out for at least three weeks.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Gurkeerat Singh Mann in the India T20I team as a cover up for injured Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane split his webbing on his right hand while fielding in the fourth ODI at Canberra,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
The seamer is unlikely to feature in the series against Sri lanka, which follows the Australian tour.
T20 top spot awaits India
The One-Day series defeat against Australia notwithstanding, India can seek motivation from the fact that they can claim the top spot in the ICC T20 International rankings if they make a clean sweep in the three-match series that begins on January 26.
If India sweep the three-match T20 series, they will vault to number one with 120 points from the current 110, while Aus will plummet to number eight with 110 points from current 118.
If India win 2-1, Australia will slip to sixth and India to seventh.
India are currently ranked eighth while Australia are at second spot behind the West Indies (118). Sri lanka are on third with 118 points.
On other hand, Australia just need a series win to claim the top spot. In case of a 2-1 win, Australia will move to 120 points, while a 3-0 win will put Australia on 124 points and India on 103 points.