Asian Games 2023: Shivam Mavi Suffers Injury, Likely To Be Replaced By Umran Malik In India Squad- Report

Team India have suffered a big injury blow even before the start of the Asian Games. Before the team could gather in Bengaluru for a short camp to prepare for the historic event, one of the key players of the team, Shivam Mavi, is reportedly injured and is set to miss the flight to Hangzhou next month.

The upcoming event will be a historic one for Team India as they will be participating in the Asian Games for the first time. Although cricket is not new to the Asian Games, Team India will be participating in it for the first time. Cricket was held in the 2010 and 2014 editions of the Asian Games but the BCCI decided against sending the teams to the event on both occasions.

However, Shivam Mavi will miss the historic event due to an unfortunate injury. According to a report in The Indian Express, the right-arm pacer suffered the injury a few days ago and is all set to miss the continental games. The nature and extent of the injury, however, is not clearly known. The Uttar Pradesh star, however, is likely to miss the Asian Games 2023.

Replacement for Shivam Mavi:

The report further stated that the BCCI selection panel is set to pick a replacement for Shivam Mavi in the coming days. Umran Malik, who failed to make the cut for the ODI World Cup, is the frontrunner to replace the injured bowler in the Asian Games squad.

The selectors wanted to send Yash Thakur, who was kept among the standby players. However, the pacer is also not available for selection after injuring his back. As a result, Malik will be in contention to play in the upcoming Asian Games.

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead a second-string Indian side in the Games. Before departing for China, the players will attend a two-week training camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). VVS Laxman will be coaching the second-string Indian team along with Sariaj Bahutule as the bowling coach and Munish Bali as the fielding coach.

India squad for Asian Games 2023:

Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wicket-keeper)

Standby players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan