Mayank Agarwal added to India's ODI squad for West Indies series after COVID-19 outbreak

Opener Mayank Agarwal has been added to the Indian ODI squad for the home series against West Indies after COVID-19 cases hit the team’s preparations on Wednesday.

The BCCI, through an official press release, has confirmed that opening batters Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad as well as middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer have tested positive for COVID-19.

The cricket board informed that apart from the three, standby pacer Navdeep Saini, fielding coach T. Dilip, security liaison officer B. Lokesh and sports massage therapist Rajeev Kumar have also returned positive results.

The BCCI statement in this regard read:

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India’s ODI squad after seven members, including three players of Team India (Senior Men) tested positive for COVID-19 following three rounds of RT-PCR testing.”

The statement added:

“The members were asked to report in Ahmedabad on 31st January 2022 for the upcoming Paytm three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. 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 Indian cricket board assured that the BCCI medical team is “handling the positive cases and they will remain in isolation till complete recovery is attained”.

The first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies in Ahmedabad will be a historic one as it will be India’s 1000th one-dayer. The Men in Blue will be the first side in international cricket to reach the landmark. However, the big clash will be played behind closed doors owing to the continued threat of COVID-19.

A Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) tweet read:

"We are all set to host West Indies Tour of India ODI Series 2022. 1st ODI on 6th of Feb will be a very special and historic match as India will be playing it's 1000th ODI. Indian team will be the first cricket team in the world to achieve this feat.”

Another tweet added:

"Considering the current situation, all the matches will be played behind the closed doors.”

While the ODIs will be played behind closed doors, the West Bengal government has allowed 75 percent attendance for the T20Is in Kolkata.

Mayank Agarwal’s ODI record

30-year-old Mayank Agarwal has only featured in five ODIs to date. In these matches, he has scored 86 runs at an average of 17.20 with a best of 32.

He made his one-day debut against New Zealand in Hamilton in February 2020 and last played for India in the format in the same year, versus Australia in Sydney in November.