Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: With no warm-up matches lined up before the T20 World Cup gets underway on Feb 7, the Indian team is planning to arrange a match on Feb 4 to check its resources one final time given the injury concerns in the team. TOI has learnt that the selectors and the Indian board (BCCI) are looking at possible backup options with Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma still recovering from their respective injuries. Sources said that the BCCI is planning to play South Africa or bringing in India ‘A’ players for an intra-squad game.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Indian team will assemble in Mumbai on Feb 2. The warmup match is likely to happen at the Brabourne Stadium if the plan materialises. TOI understands that the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru has been conveyed to prepare Riyan Parag, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, for the warmup match if the need arises.
“Washington’s recovery from the side strain is taking longer than expected. The selectors are preparing for a situation where he is unable to be fit in the initial matches of the World Cup. Tilak’s recovery has been good. His return to play is being chalked out at the moment. The team management is confident he will be in prime shape by the second match on Feb 12. The selectors want the team to settle down by the match against Pakistan in Colombo on Feb 15,” a BCCI source said.The selectors named Ravi Bishnoi as Washington’s replacement for the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand while Shreyas Iyer was brought back in place of Tilak for the first three T20Is. Bishnoi got a game in the third T20I in Guwahati on Sunday evening with Iyer on the bench in all three matches. BCCI didn’t announce if Tilak would be available for the last two T20Is in Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram.
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Changes to the team can be made till Jan 30 but tournament’s technical committee can always allow replacements in case of injuries even during the tournament.It has been learnt that Parag is slated to play two simulation matches on Jan 28 and Jan 30 before he is cleared by the CoE on Jan 31. He has been told to be ready to report to Mumbai on Feb 2.According to sources, the selectors are more concerned about Washington’s availability. It is understood that Washington has suffered an injury to a muscle that runs from ribs to the lower back. Rushing him back could even jeopardise his availability for the IPL. Parag is a like-for-like replacement option for the selectors. But they will look at other options if the warmup match happens.
