Andre Russell was ruled out of West Indies T20I squad against India after the all-rounder experienced some discomfort while playing in the GT20 tournament in Canada.
The interim selection panel of Cricket West Indies has named Jason Mohammed as the substitution for Andre Russell for the first and second matches of the three-match Twenty20 International series.
Mohammed (32) has so far played nine T20 internationals and has additionally captained the West Indies in T20 internationals and the 50-over series.
Russell was named in the first 14-part squad for the first and second matches to be played in the US subject to him passing a wellness appraisal before the series.
The all-rounder encountered some uneasiness while playing in the GT20 competition in Canada and informed the interim selection panel of his inaccessibility for the forthcoming series.
The West Indies are the authoritative ICC World T20 champions and will confront India at the Broward County Stadium in Florida on Saturday and Sunday. The last match of the arrangement will be played in Guyana on Tuesday.
"We welcome Jason Mohammed into the squad for the first two T20 matches here in Florida. He is a player with a lot of experience in all three formats and has done well for Trinidad & Tobago as well as for Guyana Amazon Warriors," said Floyd Reifer, the interval head mentor of the West Indies.
"It is not easy to the fill the shoes of someone like Andre Russell, who has dominated T20 cricket all over the world and helped the West Indies win the ICC T20 World Cup on two occasions. We believe Jason is capable of good performances and we back him to perform at this level and win games as well," Reifer included.
