Prince, Bishnoi in squad for England ODIs, Zimbabwe T20Is

Young pacer Harshit Rana and veteran spinner Varun Chakravarthy have been ruled out of competitive cricket for indefinite period due to hamstring injuries of various degrees, while Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi named as their replacements for India’s upcoming ODI and T20I assignments, respectively. Prince will be linking up with the ODI squad in England in the absence of Rana.

Leg-spinner Bishnoi, whose expensive 17th over that went for 29 runs, the single biggest reason for India’s defeat in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, got a lifeline after replacing Chakravarthy for the three-match T20I series in Zimbabwe starting later this month. “Rana reported a sudden onset of discomfort in his right hamstring during the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge. Subsequent scans revealed a Grade 1 hamstring injury,” BCCI said in a statement.

“He has been ruled out of the forthcoming ODI series against England and will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further assessment and management,” it further stated.

In case of Chakravarthy, it is a grade 2 injury which could well keep him out for three to six months, depending on the speed of his rehabilitation. He is soon to be 35 and it will be interesting as to how much time his ageing body takes to recover.

“Chakaravarthy also reported a sudden onset of discomfort in his left hamstring during the third T20I against England. An MRI scan subsequently revealed a Grade 2 hamstring injury.  “Based on specialist medical advice, he has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. He will report to the BCCI COE for further management,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia was quoted as saying.