Ahead of India’s fixtures against New Zealand, an in-form Shreyas Iyer had to be dropped from the squad as he copped a back-injury, forcing BCCI to announce a revised squad. In the latest contingency announced for the arriving Kiwis, RCB number three, Rajat Patidar was included in the squad in place of Shreyas Iyer.
Shreyas Iyer will now be returning to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further assessment and his due course of action. Rajat Patidar has earned the call-ups for the Indian cricket team previously, however, he is still to get a start for the Men in Blue.
BCCI’s press-release said, “Team India batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match ODI series against New Zealand due to a back injury. He will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further assessment and management. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rajat Patidar as a replacement for Shreyas Iyer.”
Iyer was India’s top run-getter in 2022 in the ODIs as he provided the Men in Blue some crucial platform in the middle-order while allowing the others to get hold of their momentum. Despite not being able to explode against Sri Lanka, he was pretty decent with his contributions as he chimed in with scores of 28, 28 and 38.
Now it is a tricky call about the inclusion of Rajat Patidar in the playing XI, considering the fact that India may opt for Suryakumar Yadav despite the latter’s dwindling numbers in the 50-over format hoping for him to present a strong case for himself. However, Rajat’s constant inclusion in the Indian squad makes a decent case for the right-hander in the forthcoming days, especially under circumstances where India is slowly transitioning into a new side.
India’s updated ODI squad against New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik.
