With all-rounder Washington Sundar out of the Zimbabwe ODI series due to injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement for the series.
The Indian cricket team has already reached Zimbabwe for the series opener on the 18th of August. And even though initially Washington Sundar was named in the Indian team for script his comeback, the player suffered a shoulder injury and has been ruled out of the series.
Washington Sundar become a star instantly after making his India debut and was hugely in the plans for the of the Indian team. But, Sundar has fell pray of injury a several times that has got his career back-tracked. He has been several times looked after the selectors because of injury and never really got time to establish himself.
He missed out on the IPL 2022 as well. While he was unavailable for the first couple of matches, but even after recovering and returning to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, he suffered injury again. He then joined the English County team Lancashire to play in the English County Championship.
And while he had a great opportunity to return back into the Indian setup, he has suffered another shoulder injury which has ruled him out of the Zimbabwe series. BCCI today has officially confirmed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement for the series.
Shahbaz caught attention of many with his brilliant performance for the Bangalore team in the IPL 2022 in which he scored 219 runs in 11 inning and took 4 wickets. A year back in IPL 2021, while he didn’t contribute much with the bat, he took a total of 7 wickets. He has also been great with both bat and ball domestically for the Bengal Cricket Team.
The India vs Zimbabwe ODI series kicks-off on the 18th of August at the Harare Sports Club ground. The remaining 2 matches will be played on the 20th and the 22nd of August at the same venue.