India vs Australia 2020-21: Concussion rules out Jadeja for remaining T20Is, Shardul Thakur to replace him

India drew first blood in the ongoing Twenty20 International series against Australia, winning the opening game by 11 runs. Ravindra Jadeja played a late blitz of 23-ball 44, helping India post a match-winning total of 160/7. Yuzvendra Chahal later replaced him as concussion substitute.

In what could be deemed as heart-breaking news for Team India and Indian fans, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the remaining two Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) against Australia. The reason for the same happens to be a concussion that he had suffered during the opening T20I, in Canberra, on Friday, which India won by 11 runs.

While India were batting first, all-rounder Jadeja played a late blitz of a 23-ball 44, to steer India to a modest total of 161/5. However, during the course of his innings, he hurt his hamstring, while he was also struck on his helmet, following a delivery off seamer, Mitchell Starc.

Although he seemed unfazed by it at that moment, following the innings, India announced that he was having a concussion and utilised their substitute, as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal replaced him. The latter went on to claim three wickets for 25, as his performance earned India the much-needed win, besides making him the Man of the Match.

Following the game, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had said that Jadeja did complain of concussion following the innings, as he was being evaluated further by team physio and doctor. Nonetheless, it was later on Friday night when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent out an update, confirming that Jadeja was ruled out of the remaining series.

"Ravindra Jadeja sustained a concussion after being hit on the left side of his forehead in the final over of the first innings of the first T20I against Australia in Canberra on 4th December 2020. The diagnosis was confirmed based on a clinical assessment in the dressing room during the innings break by the BCCI Medical Team. Jadeja remains under observation and will be taken for further scans, if required, based on the assessment on Saturday morning. He will not take any further part in the ongoing T20I series," read BCCI's statement.

Meanwhile, BCCI has announced pacer Shardul Thakur as Jadeja's replacement. Thakur is coming off a decent performance in the ODIs, where he played just the final game and claimed 3/51. She also finished as the third-highest wicket-taker for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), although his team could only manage to finish in the seventh spot.

India's updated T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul (vc & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur.