India vs West Indies: Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore added as cover in India's squad

According to the recent reports, Shahrukh Khan and R Sai Kishore have been added as backups to India's squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against the West Indies. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been added as cover if any player does end up getting tested positive for the deadly virus.

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It is to be noted that the Asian side is all set to host the men in maroon for three ODIs, as well as three T20Is. Thus, the Windies tour to India is slated to start from February 6. Besides, the BCCI already announced two 19-member squads, but ignored Shahrukh Khan and R Sai Kishore despite their exploits for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit.

However, according to a report by The Times of India, a source confirmed the duo's inclusion on Saturday. The source said that the board didn't want to take any chances and thus, included them as cover. With the third wave looming in India, it was risky to play a series without sufficient backups.

First ODI between India and West Indies to take place on February 6

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"The BCCI wants to have all its bases covered. With the third wave still persisting, the Board cannot take a chance, and Shahrukh and Sai Kishore have been added to the squad. Sai Kishore will be a good handy bowler at the nets too," said the source.

In recent times, Khan has been one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the domestic arena. In fact, he was superb in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy season as well. The aggressive batter had a whopping strike rate of 186.03 in the tournament. Moreover, he was superb in the fourteenth edition of the Indian T20 League for the Punjab Kings as well.

As for Kishore, the off-spinner has been Tamil Nadu's MVP for quite a while now, and was amongst the top ten wicket-takers in the recent T20 tournament. He took ten wickets in eight games. As far as the Vijay Hazare Trophy for this season goes, he took nine wickets in eight games at an average of 35.22.