India vs West Indies: Kuldeep Yadav replaces injured Washington Sundar in India squad for T20I series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday, February 14 named Kuldeep Yadav as a replacement for injured Washington Sundar for the upcoming 3-match T20I series that will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from February 16.

Washington Sundar has suffered a hamstring strain that has ruled him out of the T20I series. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder, who has been sold to SunRisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction, played all the 3 ODIs for India against the West Indies.

“All-rounder Washington Sundar suffered a left hamstring muscle strain during fielding in the third ODI against the West Indies played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday,” a BCCI release said.

Sundar has been bogged down by injury setbacks in the recent past. The all-rounder missed the 2nd half of IPL 2021 and the T20 World Cup due to a finger injury he picked up during India’s tour of England. He also missed India’s tour of South Africa earlier this year due to Covid-19.

KULDEEP RETURNS TO T20I SET UP

Kuldeep was also part of the ODI squad and the left-arm wrist-spinner returned to the ODI set-up for the first time in nearly a year when he played the final ODI on Friday. Kuldeep picked up 2 wickets in India’s victory in the series finale.

Kuldeep last played T20Is for India during a 3-match series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka last year in August. The former Kolkatta Knight Riders spinner’s stock in the shortest format of the game has fallen but having sealed a deal with Delhi Capitals for IPL 2022, Kuldeep will be looking to make a mark against the West Indies if he gets an opportunity.

India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain) (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav.