IND VS WI: KL Rahul, Axar Patel ruled out of T20I series, BCCI names replacements

KL Rahul and Axar Patel have been ruled out of the Twenty20 International (T20I) series between India and West Indies, starting next week.

India's vice-captain Rahul, who missed the first One-Day International (ODI) due to personal reasons, sustained a hamstring while fielding in the second ODI earlier this week. Meanwhile, Axar is still recovering from covid-19, according to an official release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"Rahul sustained an upper left hamstring strain during fielding in the 2nd ODI on 9th February 2022 while Axar has resumed the final stage of his rehabilitation after recently recovering from Covid-19. They will now head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further management of their injury," said the BCCI.

The Indian selectors have named Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda as replacements. Hooda made his India debut in the first ODI, while Gaikwad contracted covid-19 just before the series opener.

The three-match T20I series is scheduled to begin on Feb. 16 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Team India thrashed West Indies by 96 runs to win the third ODI on Friday and complete a clean sweep of 3-0. It was India's first whitewash win since they defeated Sri Lanka 5-0 in 2017.

With that, Rohit Sharma became the eighth Indian captain to lead the team to an ODI series whitewash victory if his side wins the third ODI joining Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane.

India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda.