Mayank Agarwal to enter amid several players testing COVID-19 positive

BCCI adds Mayank Agarwal to the squad as a backup after four players including Shikhar Dhawan, Navdeep Saini, Shreyas Iyer, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested COVID-19 positive.

After players and staff testing positive for COVID-19, Mayank Agarwal comes in place to join the Indian Squad. BCCI adds the right-handed batsman to the squad as a backup after four players including Shikhar Dhawan, Navdeep Saini, Shreyas Iyer, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested COVID-19 positive.

Three support staff members, Therapist Rajeev Kumar, Fielding coach T Dilip, and security liaison officer B Lokesh have also tested positive for the virus.

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The members were asked to report in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming three-match ODI and T20 series against West Indies starting from February 6. All the members underwent an RT-PCR test before arriving in Ahmedabad and the travel was undertaken only after testing negative.

BCCI’s medical team is taking care of the positive cases and they will remain under isolation until they test negative. The players tested positive upon their arrival on Monday when they arrived in Ahmedabad. They are currently analyzing the situation and will soon declare replacements.

The first match of the ODI series between India and West Indies will be played on February 6, following the second match on February 9 and then they will end the series with the last match on February 11.

Similarly, the first match of the T20 International series between India and West Indies will be played on February 16, following the second match on February 18 and then they will end the series with the last match on February 20.

It is expected that M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, and Rishi Dhawan who are back-ups for the series will now get a chance to play in the series. T20 specialist opener, Venkatesh Iyer might open with the captain, Rohit Sharma.