A finger injury has sidelined India opener Rohit Sharma from the rest of the England series. M Vijay, who flew back home after the Tests, has been called up as his replacement.
“Rohit Sharma has sustained a fracture on the middle finger of his right hand, and has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI and T20 International Series against England, as a result,” a BCCI press release said. “The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked Murali Vijay as his replacement.”
The specialist batsmen already with the limited-overs squad in England who could replace Rohit in the XI for the third ODI on Saturday are Ambati Rayudu and the 19-year-old Sanju Samson. India could consider using Ajinkya Rahane as an opener, and slotting either Rayudu or Samson in the middle order.
Rohit was promoted to the top order in January 2013, and has had some success in the role, averaging 46.34, contributing to India’s Champions Trophy success last year and becoming the third batsman to make an ODI double century.
While Rohit has struggled to nail down a permanent place in the Test side, his replacement Vijay has managed to do so, but has struggled to establish himself in the limited-overs outfit. Vijay was picked for a tri-series in the Caribbean in July 2013, ending a two-and-a-half-year absence from the ODI side, but he didn’t do enough to warrant a longer run.
Rohit’s previous visit to England in 2011 was also cut short when he was struck by a Stuart Broad bouncer and injured his right index finger.
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