Team Management Keen On Mayank Agarwal As Replacement For Shikhar Dhawan: Report

India will have to name a backup opener as senior opener Shikhar Dhawan is likely to miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies. The left-handed batsman has not played a game since injuring himself during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game between Delhi and Maharashtra. At first, it looked like Dhawan would recover in a week’s time but the injury looks serious.

The left-handed batsman has already missed the T20I series against West Indies. He was replaced in the squad by Sanju Samson for the ongoing series. The three-match series is currently locked at 1-1 after West Indies won the second game by eight wickets. The third and final T20I will be played in Mumbai on Wednesday (December 11).

After the three T20Is, both the teams will lock horns in as many ODIs. The three ODIs will be played in Chennai (December 15), Visakhapatnam (December 18) and Cuttack (December 22).

Team management opts for Mayank Agarwal:

Team India, meanwhile, have decided to call-up Mayank Agarwal as replacement for Shikhar Dhawan. Along with Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw were also in contention to replace Dhawan in the team. However, the selectors have reportedly decided to pick Agarwal after consulting with the team-management.

“The selection committee has recommended Mayank’s name as Shikhar’s replacement after consultation with the team management. Dhawan is currently undergoing rehabilitation,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.

Mayank, who is currently playing Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu in Dindigul, will join the national team in Chennai before the first game. The report claimed that the team management is keen on Mayank translating his stupendous Test performance into the ODI arena. Agarwal had earned his first ODI call-up during the World Cup as replacement for injured Vijay Shankar but did not play any game.

The source further confirmed that Shaw and Gill were also on selectors’ minds but they went for Agarwal after talking to the team-management.

“Mayank along with Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill were the three choices that selection committee had. But team management believes that Mayank’s List A record of 50 plus average and 100 plus strike rate with 13 hundreds is good enough to try him out in this format,” the source added.

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