County Select XI vs Indians: Rohit Sharma wins toss, decides to bat
Jul 20, 2021
Durham [UK], July 20 : Indians won the toss and opted to bat against County XI in a three-day warm-up game here in Durham.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been rested for the clash, and as a result, Rohit Sharma is leading the outfit. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma have also been rested for the clash, and in their place, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav have been called into the XI.
After the loss in the WTC finals against New Zealand, skipper Kohli had voiced his concern about not having enough practice matches and this put BCCI in work with ECB and a three-day warm-up game was arranged.
Last week, it was confirmed that wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result, he is not available for this match. Throwdown specialist cum masseur Dayanand Garani also tested positive, and Wriddhiman Saha was asked to isolate as he was a 'close contact. This has seen KL Rahul coming in as the wicketkeeper.
The three-day match is being played behind closed doors, but it will be streamed on Durham's YouTube channel.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
County XI squad: Zak Chappell, Robert Yates, James Bracey(w), Haseeb Hameed, Rehan Ahmed, James Rew, Will Rhodes(c), Jake Libby, Lyndon James, Craig Miles, Liam Patterson-White, Ethan Bamber, Jack Carson.