Shivam Mavi ruled out of Team India squad for Asian Games with injury; Pooja Vastrakar replaces Sarvani in women's team

Shivam Mavi was ruled out of the Asian Games squad due to a back injury, with Akash Deep replacing the pacer.

The BCCI on Saturday announced changes to India men's and women's squads for the Asian Games 2023, as Shivam Mavi (men) and Anjali Sarvani (women) were ruled out of the respective squads due to injuries. Mavi, named in the initial squad, will not be taking part in the continental event due to a back injury and will be replaced by Akash Deep; Sarvani, meanwhile, was ruled out due to a knee injury. Pooja Vastrakar will replace her in the squad.

Indian player Shivam Mavi in action during the T20 cricket match between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai (PTI)

“The Men’s Selection Committee named Akash Deep as replacement for Shivam Mavi in the Indian squad for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Mavi is suffering from a back injury and is ruled out of the tournament. The men’s cricket competition will take place from 28th September to 8th October in a T20 format,” a release from BCCI read.

Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda and Sai Sudharsan are the four standby players in India's men's Asian Games squad.

Onto the women's team, BCCI updated that left-arm pacer Sarvani faced a knee injury, and Vastrakar replacing her remains the only change. “Meanwhile, the Women’s Selection Committee named Pooja Vastrakar, who was earlier a part of the standby list of players, as replacement for Anjali Sarvani at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022,” wrote BCCI.

“Sarvani, a left-arm pacer, suffered a knee injury and has been ruled out of the event, which will be held from 19th September to 8th October 2023 at Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field. The women’s cricket competition will take place from 19th-28th September 2023 in a T20 format.”

Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana and Saika Ishaque are the four standbys in women's squad.

Here are the updated men's and women's squads:

Team India (Senior Men) squad for 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep.

Team India (Senior Women) squad for 19th Asian Games: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy, Pooja Vastrakar.