Mayank Agarwal added to the Indian ODI squad after Dhawan, Iyer, and Gaikwad test positive for Covid-19

Mayank Agarwal has been added to the Indian ODI squad for the series against West Indies after Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive for Covid-19. Furthermore, Navdeep Saini, who is a standby player has also tested positive for the virus. Mayank Agarwal has scored 86 runs in five ODIs he has played for the national team.

T Dilip (Fielding Coach), B Lokesh (Security Liaison Officer), and Rajeev Kumar (Massage Therapist) are the other three members of the Indian contingent who have tested positive for Covid-19.

All of these seven members have been moved to a different floor in the team’s hotel and are in isolation. In fact, all the players were asked to test themselves before traveling to Ahmedabad.

“Every member was also asked to undergo an RT-PCR test at home before embarking on their journey to Ahmedabad and the travel was undertaken only after testing negative,” the BCCI clarified.

As Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are now expected to miss the three-match ODI series, either KL Rahul or Mayank Agarwal could open the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma. Rahul had opened with Shikhar Dhawan in the three-match ODI series against South Africa.

On the other hand, a top official of Cricket West Indies has confirmed that there are no positive cases in their camp.

“We were all negative before we left Barbados. And all negative on our arrival tests at the airport yesterday in Ahmedabad. We are in room isolation on a separate floor to the Indian team as per the protocols,” the top-ranked official told Cricbuzz.

The first ODI of the series will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 6th February.