DHONI INJURED, PARTHIV CALLED UP
Indian skipper suffers muscle spasm during practice
Dhaka, Feb. 22: Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday suffered a muscle spasm prompting the BCCI to include Parthiv Patel as a back-up for the limited overs skipper just two days ahead of India’s Asia Cup T20 opener against hosts Bangladesh here.
The 34-year-old Dhoni suffered the condition during the team’s training session here.
“India ODI and T20I captain MS Dhoni has suffered a muscle spasm in the back during a training session today in Dhaka,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Parthiv Patel as the back-up wicketkeeper for the upcoming Asia Cup, 2016. He will join the team in Dhaka at the earliest.”
Medium Pacer Jasprit Bumrah did not train on the first day. “Parthiv has been summoned as precautionary measure,” team’s media manager Nishant Arora said. As far as Bumrah is concerned, he is “little under the weather and advised rest today.” The 30-year-old left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, Patel plays for Gujarat in the domestic circuit, and has had a good season at home, hitting a century each in Vijay Hazare and Deodhar Trophy tournaments. Patel, who last played for India in an ODI against Sri Lanka in the triseries at Brisbane, Australia in 2012, had recently expressed a desire to return to the national team, saying he’s always motivated to play for India. — PTI