The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday approved Mayank Agarwal as a replacement player for injured Vijay Shankar in the Indian squad for the remainder of the 2019 World Cup.
All-rounder Shankar has been ruled out of further participation in the tournament due to a toe injury sustained during the training session. He was hit on the toe by a Jasprit Bumrah yorker.
The replacement of a player at a World Cup requires the approval of the ICC Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to a squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ongoing World Cup consists of Geoff Allardice (ICC, ETC chairman), Campbell Jamieson (ICC representative), Steve Elworthy (CWC representative), Alan Fordham (host representative), Harsha Bhogle and Kumar Sangakkara (both independent representatives).
Shankar is the second Indian player to be ruled out of the 2019 World Cup after opener Shikhar Dhawan exited with to a thumb fracture, sustained during the game against Australia. Rishabh Pant had replaced Dhawan and made his World Cup debut against England on Sunday (June 30).
It has also been learnt that Mayank Agarwal’s performance in England during the last ‘A’ series under Rahul Dravid’s coaching has been factored in while deciding his name. India ‘A’ won the ODI tri-series involving England Lions and West Indies ‘A’ with Mayank and Prithvi Shaw topping the batting charts.
“The Indian team management has asked for Mayank Agarwal as a replacement since he is an opener and also it might give KL Rahul a chance to get back to the No.4 position in case Rishabh Pant fails in the next two games,” a source told PTI.
Earlier, vice-captain Rohit Sharma also talked about Shankar’s injury on Sunday but it was presumed to be an old hit that he took to Southampton. It now seems that Shankar’s toe injury has aggravated after playing against Afghanistan and West Indies.
“There is no uncertainty with regard to the number four position. Vijay Shankar was supposed to play but before the game, he got hit on the toe by Jasprit and he wasn’t fit. Every team will have these one or two changes happening every now and then,” Rohit said after India’s 31-run defeat to England.
