Rishabh Pant ruled out of the Bangladesh ODI series due to undisclosed injury; no replacement announced

Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been released from the squad for the Bangladesh ODI series due to an apparent undisclosed injury. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not yet named a replacement for the player.

As a result, Pant is not part of the playing XI for the first ODI. KL Rahul is expected to don the wicketkeeping gloves in the southpaw's absence and will claim his spot in the middle order as well.

The BCCI released a brief statement following the toss at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday, December 4, which read:

"In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought."

Moreover, all-rounder Axar Patel was also not considered for the series opener, and the statement continued:

"Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI."

Pant was recently seen during the white-ball tour of New Zealand last month. He was promoted to the top of the order in the absence of several senior players but failed to make his chances count.

Pant could only record a string of poor scores across the tour and was on the receiving end of criticism and scrutiny over his batting.

🚨 UPDATE

In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought

Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI.

#TeamIndia | #BANvIND

He is expected to recover from his injury just in time to join the Test squad that will partake in a two-match series against Bangladesh, beginning on December 14.

Team India have already lost a slew of players due to injuries ahead of the ODI series. The likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Yash Dayal, and Mohammad Shami have all been replaced in the ODI squad. Shahbaz Ahmed, Kuldeep Sen, and Umran Malik were subsequently added to the contingent.

Rishabh Pant averages 37.33 in ODIs this year

Pant managed to record his maiden ODI hundred during the tour of England in July 2022 as well as score a handful of fifties at the start of the year.

However, he has been highly inconsistent, with seven out of his 10 innings in 2022 being below 20 runs.

🚨 Toss & Team News 🚨

Bangladesh have elected to bowl against #TeamIndia in the first #BANvIND ODI.

Follow the match 👉 bit.ly/BANvIND-1STODI

A look at our Playing XI 🔽 https://t.co/cwbB8cdXfP

The southpaw will have to up the ante, especially with Rahul now back in consideration along with Sanju Samson for the role of the first-choice wicketkeeper in the squad.

Team India updated squad for Bangladesh ODI series

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.

Who will win the first ODI between India and Bangladesh? Let us know what you think.

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