IND vs BAN 1st T20I: India Suffer Massive Blow as World Cup Winning All-rounder Ruled Out

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that all-rounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.

According to BCCI’s release, the reason stated regarding his absence is due to a back injury. Dube was also not part of Mumbai’s squad for the Irani Cup tie against Rest of India as well.

The BCCI has also announced that the young left-hander Tilak Varma would replace Dube. He will join the squad in Gwalior on Sunday morning.

Reports also suggest that Dube’s back injury resurfaced during his training with Mumbai prior to the Bangladesh series. Once he arrived in Gwalior, the pain did not subside and also was uncomfortable while training.

His replacement, Varma has represented the national team in 16 T20Is, scoring 336 runs and also is handy with the ball having picked up two wickets as a part-time bowler as well. He had been injured during the recently concluded Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka T20I series.

While Dube would be a big loss to the side, the addition of Varma into the side will be a welcome boost for the national setup. The young left-hander has showcased his potential in the Indian Premier League where he has been one of the best batters for Mumbai Indians in recent years.

While MI did not have an ideal season as a collective, Varma has been the shining light for the side had also has an excellent batting record in the tournament as well.

In the IPL he has amassed 1156 runs in 38 games at an average of 39.86 and a strike-rate of 146.32 which includes six half-centuries and a high-score of an unbeaten 84.

The skipper Suryakumar Yadav will also be familiar with his game and the two could take up the number three and number four spots in the batting order to form a lethal partnership in the middle-order.

Team India will play their first T20I in Gwalior on October 6. This would be followed by the second one on October 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and the final game taking place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 12.