India have called up Andhra Pradesh wicket-keeper batsman K S Bharat as cover for injured Rishabh Pant for the remaining ODIs of the ongoing three-match series against Australia.
The 26-year-old Bharat is uncapped and has an experience of 74 first-class matches with 4143 runs. He has a strike rate of over 100 in T20s.
Pant was ruled out of the second ODI against Australia with a concussion. Following the Mumbai ODI, which India lost by 10 wickets, BCCI had said that the left-hander will undergo concussion rehabilitation protocol at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
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"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named K S Bharat as the back-up wicket-keeper for the 2nd ODI in Rajkot against Australia," BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
"With Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan being a part of the India A side in New Zealand, the selection committee decided to name K S Bharat as back-up wicket-keeper," he added.
Though the board initially had refrained from naming a replacement for Pant, but according to ESPNcricinfo, Bharat has been asked to rush to Rajkot as the cover.
The 22-year-old Pant was struck on the helmet by a Pat Cummins bouncer in the 44th over of India's innings in the first ODI on Tuesday following which KL Rahul had to do the glovework when India came out to field.
