New Delhi: All-rounder Krunal Pandya and medium pacer Deepak Chahar earned their maiden call up in the Indian squad to replace the injured Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah for the three-match Twenty20 series against England, starting Tuesday at Manchester.
Krunal and Deepak were included just for the T20 series while left-arm spinner Axar Patel was named as Sundar’s replacement for the three-match ODI series that starts at Nottingham on June 12.
Incidentally, Krunal and his brother Hardik Pandya will be the third brother duo to represent India after Mohinder Amarnath and Surinder Amarnath and Pathan brothers – Irfan and Yusuf at the senior level.
“The senior selection committee has named Krunal Pandya as Washington Sundar’s replacement in India’s T20 side and Axar Patel in the ODI side for the upcoming limited-overs series against England,” BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Sundar has been ruled out of the entire limited overs series against England. Bumrah, on the other hand, has a fractured left thumb and has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against England.
Krunal has been rewarded for his consistent performances for Mumbai Indians in the last two editions of the IPL, while Chahar got rewarded for his good performance in the domestic tournaments and the ongoing India A team’s tour of England.
Chahar is currently playing for India A squad in England in the 50-over tri-series, featuring England Lions and West Indies A. After three games in the series, Chahar is on top of India’s wicket-taking chart, with seven wickets at 12.71 and an economy rate of 4.04.
Meanwhile, the selectors have also included Rishabh Pant in the India A squad for the four-day matches. Currently a member of the India A squad for the one-day games, Pant will continue to be with the side for the longer format too.
