Fast bowler Umesh Yadav, batsman Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed have been selected in Team India for the T20 series against South Africa, which will be the final international faceoff for team India before the world cup starts. An injured Deepak Hooda has been ruled out of the entire series.
The first match of the three-match series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram from 7 pm on Wednesday. This will be followed by two other matches that are set to be played on 2 and 4 October respectively.
BCCI has confirmed that Hooda is battling a back injury and Mohammed Shami is recovering from coronavirus. Both of them will not be able to play in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also in Bengaluru for conditioning. In such a situation, the selection committee has chosen Umesh Yadav and Shreyas Iyer as replacements of Shami and Hooda, respectively.
Shahbaz Ahmed has also been given a chance. Even though Ahmed has been selected in the team before, this will be his international debut.
The shuffle of players in Team India right before the first T20 encounter against South Africa has implications.
The T20 World Cup begins in 18 days, but the Team is still seeking for the proper mix, and the bowling department has been under the scanner for the last two series, particularly while defending.
With three matches remain until the World Cup, the death over woes appear to be unsolvable. Bumrah’s addition has given Indian cricket fans some hope, but there are certain players who are still striving for fitness and others who are out of form. Changes to the World Cup team are feasible in such a case, which does not appear to be a good sign
BCCI has indicated the return of fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. The board informed that Arshdeep has joined the team in Thiruvananthapuram. A fast bowler, who hails from Punjab, Arshdeep has performed brilliantly in the Asia Cup and is also a part of the World Cup team.
The final team for South-Africa Series
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer Shahbaz Ahmed.
