Mumbai: Axar Patel has been named in the India squad on Wednesday to replace Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test against Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Axar has played 30 One-Day Internationals for India where he picked 35 wickets and scored 170 runs. If Axar is picked in the 11-man squad, this will be his Test debut.
After playing a starring role in the second Test against Sri Lanka, where he scored an unbeaten 70 and picked up a five-wicket haul in the second innings, Jadeja was banned for breaking the ICC Code of Conduct.
On the third day of the second Test, Jadeja threw a ball at Malinda Pushpakumara when he hadn’t left the crease and the ball missed Dimuth Karunaratne narrowly. The umpires deemed this ‘dangerous’ and hence, ICC has banned him.
On Tuesday, Jadeja reached the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings for all-rounders and while captain Virat Kohli congratulated the ‘sword master’ for the achievement, Jadeja thanked Kohli and MS Dhoni for their contribution in his success.
The third Test is set to begin on August 12.
