Mayank Agarwal added to Indian ODI squad

Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday added batter Mayank Agarwal to India's One-Day International (ODI) squad after seven members, including four players -- Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Navdeep Saini -- tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the series against the West Indies.

The members of the Indian squad were asked to report in Ahmedabad on Monday for the series against the West Indies. They were also asked to undergo an RT-PCR test at home before travelling to Ahmedabad.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India's ODI squad," the BCCI said in a statement.

The statement further said that the opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Navdeep Saini's (standby player) RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday have returned positive results. On the other hand, fielding Coach T Dilip and Security Liaison Officer B Lokesh's RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday have returned positive results.

Meanwhile, batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had tested negative during the first round of testing on Monday, has returned a positive result during a RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday.

Shreyas Iyer and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar's RT-PCR tests conducted on Wednesday have returned positive results. Both had tested negative in the first two rounds of testing.

The BCCI medical team is handling the positive cases and the members will remain in isolation till complete recovery is attained.

Notably, the Indian team has a large contingent (of 26 members, including net bowlers) and so there seems to be no imminent threat to the series overall.

The West Indies team, which reached Ahmedabad on Wednesday morning, is also put up in the same hotel as India, and so are the match officials.

Teams are scheduled to play the first of three ODIs at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. The ODI leg will be followed by three T20Is, which are scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India's ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), K L Rahul (vice-capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mayank Agarwal.