Ishant Sharma has got another lease of life in the shorter format with the lanky pacer being included in the Indian ODI squad for the ongoing series against West Indies after Mohit Sharma was ruled out from the remaining four matches due to injury.
“Mohit Sharma has aggravated his bilateral shin pain, and has therefore been ruled out of the ongoing Micromax Cup, India vs West Indies ODI series. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishant Sharma as his replacement in the Indian squad,” informed BCCI via a press release.
Ishant, who is a Test regular, last played an ODI in January against New Zealand and will certainly look to make an impression before the upcoming 2015 World Cup.
Ishant, 26, a veteran of 58 Tests and 72 ODIs, was not present at Feroz Shah Kotla for the practice session of tomorrow’s game, while Mohit and Mohammed Shami were also missing from the nets.
Mohit, who played the first match against West Indies at Kochi, failed to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar enough support as a new-ball partner, giving away 61 runs in nine overs in a match that India lost by 124 runs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men, who outplayed hosts England 3-1 in a five-match series in August-September, looked a pale shadow of themselves against the touring Caribbean side in Kochi.
But the Men in Blue would be looking to get their permutations and combinations right before the 50-over showpiece event kickstarts in February next year.
