Reports: Mayank Agarwal set to replace injured Shikhar Dhawan for West Indies ODIs

India are scheduled to play three One-Day Internationals against the West Indies after the conclusion of the ongoing T20I series. The third and final T20I of the series, which is locked at 1-1, is set to be played on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium. Ahead of the ODIs tough, the Men in Blue have been dealt with a huge blow as the injured Shikhar Dhawan has failed to recover from his knee injury.

He had hurt himself during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while playing for Delhi and was expected to be back on the field soon. The southpaw was selected in the squad for both the series but was ruled out of the T20Is for the same reason and now it is unlikely for Dhawan to play in the ODIs as well.

According to business standard, Mayank Agarwal is most likely to replace Shikhar Dhawan in the ODI squad if the latter is indeed ruled out.

Mayank Agarwal is currently playing in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka

“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 said while confirming the news. Mayank Agarwal, meanwhile, is playing for Karnataka in the ongoing first round of the Ranji Trophy season against Tamil Nadu.

The source also went on to say that the selectors discussed the names of Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill along with the Karnataka lad. But Agarwal’s impeccable numbers in List A pipped the others in contention. “Mayank along with Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill were the three choices that the 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.

“It is time that we create a pool of openers and look at all the potential options who could partner Rohit,” the source further added. Agarwal is also expected to join the India squad in Chennai ahead of the ODI series opener. This will be his second call-up to the ODI team having joined the team in England as Vijay Shankar’s replacement in the World Cup earlier this year.

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