As Rohit Sharma suffered a dislocated thumb on his right hand in the second ODI against Bangladesh on Wednesday, his participation in the upcoming two-match Test series was also put in doubt.
Coach Rahul Dravid confirmed that Rohit will travel back to Mumbai for consultation with doctors there before a decision on his return is made. He will miss the third and final ODI on Saturday in Chattogram.
Now PTI report has suggested, that India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is in Bangladesh is likely to be called up as Rohit Sharma’s replacement for the Test series that begins on December 14.
Though Easwaran, who made 141 in the first four-day match and 157 in the second match, will be the cover for Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will be partnered at the top by Shubman Gill in the two Tests in Chattogram and Dhaka.
"Abhimanyu Easwaran has scored back-to-back hundreds in ongoing A Test series and is an opener. In all likelihood, he will join the squad in Chattogram after finishing his second A Test in Sylhet," a senior BCCI source told PTI.
Apart from this, one of Mukesh Kumar or Umran Malik is likely to be called up as a replacement for injured pacer Mohammad Shami.
Shami, who was named in both the ODI and Test squads against Bangladesh, suffered a shoulder injury on eve of the first match and was ruled out of the ODI series, while his participation in the Test series is yet to be confirmed.
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Ravindra Jadeja was included in the Indian squad for the two Tests against Bangladesh, but he has not played any cricket since undergoing knee surgery and though Akshar Patel is also in the squad, the BCCI might go with Saurabh Kumar as a backup for Jadeja.
As for Suryakumar Yadav, the report suggested that for him to be included in the Indian Test squad, something out of the box has to happen. The right-handed batter has confirmed that he will play for Mumbai in their second Ranji Trophy encounter.
(PTI inputs)
