WI vs IND: Harshal Patel unavailable for selection till third T20I due to injury

WI vs IND: India medium bowler Harshal Patel will miss the second and third T20I against the West Indies due to a rib injury, the BCCI announced on Monday.

“Harshal Patel has a rib injury and is unavailable for selection for the 2nd and 3rd T20I. He is being monitored by the BCCI medical team,” BCCI tweeted after the toss of the second ODI in Saint Kitts.

The first game of the series was played in Trinidad a few days ago without Harshal. In that match, India chose leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. That paid off handsomely as the spinners dominated to give India a big 68-run triumph and a 1-0 series lead.

Bishnoi replaced by pacer Avesh Khan as India entered the match with a more balanced bowling attack. That had two alternatives for spin and three specialised seamers. Of course, Hardik Pandya is able to enter the bowl if necessary.

Even before the game began, there was a shortage of drama. Due to several players’ luggage arriving late from Trinidad to Saint Kitts. The game had to postponed by three hours.

After winning the toss, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran decided to bowl first. Shamarh Brooks and Keemo Paul replaced by Devon Thomas and Obed McCoy, respectively, for the West Indies.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh

West Indies XI: Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran(w/c), Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Devon Thomas, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.

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