IND VS WI: Mayank Agarwal added to India's ODI squad after 3 players test covid positive

Mayank Agarwal was added to India's One-Day International (ODI) squad after seven members tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad were among the members who tested positive after multiple rounds of testing, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed.

"The members were asked to report in Ahmedabad on Jan. 31 for the upcoming Paytm three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. Every member was also asked to undergo an RT-PCR test at home before embarking on their journey to Ahmedabad and the travel was undertaken only after testing negative," said BCCI.

"The BCCI Medical team is handling the positive cases and they will remain in isolation till complete recovery is attained," added BCCI in the same release.

"Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Navdeep Saini's (standby player) RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (Jan. 31) have returned positive results.

"Fielding Coach T. Dilip and Security Liaison Officer B. Lokesh's RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (Jan. 31) have returned positive results.

"Batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad's RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday (Feb. 1) has returned a positive result. He had tested negative during the first round of testing on Monday.

"Batsman Shreyas Iyer and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar's RT-PCR tests conducted on Wednesday (Feb. 2) have returned positive results. Both had tested negative in the first two rounds of testing," added BCCI in the same release.

It was earlier reported that standby bowler Navdeep Saini also tested positive. But BCCI gave no update regarding his situation.

Team India will be led by Rohit Sharma, his first series as India's full-time captain. On the other hand, Kieron Pollard-led West Indies will be high on confidence as they recently defeated England 3-2 in the T20I series at home.

Earlier, BCCI had picked Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram as the venues for the ODI and T20I series. However, the board reduced the venues and allotted the ODIs to Ahmedabad and the T20Is to Kolkata to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection among the camp.

The first ODI between India and West Indies is scheduled to be played on Sunday (Feb. 6) at Narendra Modi Stadium.

The Gujarat Cricket Association earlier this week confirmed that the ODI series will be played behind closed doors due to the omicron threat in the country. However, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) said that Eden Gardens will have a maximum of 70 percent attendance for the T20I series.