India v Sri Lanka: Kedar Jadhav ruled out of ODI series with hamstring injury

Team India received a major blow on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Dharamsala. Veteran batsman Kedar Jadhav has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series following a hamstring injury. The news comes as a big blow for the hosts as Jadhav was seen as a regular starter in the playing eleven for the Indian team in the series. Team India are playing without the services of their star batsman Virat Kohli in the series.

It is needless to concede that the men in blue would have wanted experience in the batting lineup in the absence of Kohli. However, now with even Kedar Jadhav out of the series, the hosts are found wanting for experience in the batting department. Jadhav, in the recent times, had emerged as the finisher for the Indian team in the limited overs format along with Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni.

Washington Sundar makes the cut

The team management has confirmed the exit of Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav’s contribution in the Indian team was more than just that of a batsman. His part time off-spinners often proved to be valuable sixth bowling option for the team. The selectors have named Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar as the replacement for Jadhav. Sundar has been one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit in the recent times.

Sundar was a star performance for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL this year. Also, he was prolific with both bat and the ball in the Duleep Trophy. Most recently, he had cleared the yo-yo Test at Bengaluru and following the same, he had earned a call-up in the T20I series as well.

India Squad for the ODI series

Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.