Blow for India, star player ruled out of IND vs BAN T20I series, BCCI names replacement

India have been hit with an injury blow ahead of the first t20I against Bangladesh. A star player has been ruled out of the complete series due to a back injury. The Indian Board has named the replacement too.

India and Bangladesh are gearing up for the three-match T20I series from October 6 onwards. After the 2-0 win in the Test series, the Indian team would be looking to keep the dominance high in the T2-0I series too. However, ahead of the series, the hosts have been hit with a major blow.

Star all-rounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of the T20I series against the Bangla Tigers due to a back injury, BCCI has confirmed. "All-rounder Shivam Dube is ruled out of the three-match T20I series owing to a back injury. The Senior Selection Committee has named Tilak Varma as Shivam’s replacement. Tilak will link up with the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning," the Indian Board wrote in a statement. 

Dube was part of the Indian squad that won the T20 World Cup 2024. He last featured in the both ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka in late July and early August. 

Meanwhile, Tilak makes a return to the squad. His last International and T20I match was against Afghanistan earlier in January in Mohali.

Suryakumar Yadav, who leads India in the series, addressed the media on the eve of the first game. The skipper confirmed the openers for the first T20I. "Sanju will open in this series," SKY said on the eve of the first T20I against Bangladesh. The second opener will be Abhishek Sharma. The Indian team had only one specialist opening batter in Abhishek for the series and the skipper has confirmed Samson as the other opener for the first game. 

The two teams will face each other for the first game at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. The venue will be hosting its first International match. Meanwhile, Gwalior will be hosting its first International match after 14 years. The last game in the city was the historic ODI at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in 2010 when Sachin Tendulkar hit a double hundred.

India's updated squad for the Bangladesh T20I series:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma