Jurel replaces injured Pant in India’s ODI squad for NZ series

Dhruv Jurel on Sunday replaced an injured Rishabh Pant in India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand. Jurel, who has been in stellar form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, has joined the squad for the series beginning here on Sunday. Pant suffered a side strain while batting in the nets on Saturday.

“Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant felt a sudden onset discomfort in his right lateral abdominal area while batting in the nets during India’s practice session on Saturday afternoon at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara,” said the BCCI. “He was taken for MRI scans immediately and the BCCI Medical Team had a detailed discussion with an expert on his clinical and radiological findings. Pant has been diagnosed with a side strain (Oblique Muscle Tear) and is subsequently ruled out of the ODI Series.

“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Dhruv Jurel as Pant’s replacement, and Jurel has linked up with the squad.” Jurel will be the reserve wicket-keeper batter in the ODI squad. He goes into the series at the back of six fifty-plus scores in seven innings including two hundreds.

India’s updated ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (WK).