Star India pacer Mohammed Shami’s return to the Indian T20 International side looks further delayed as the pacer has reportedly not fully recovered from the Covid infection which had kept him away out of the just-concluded three-match series against Australia.
After beating Australia 2-1 in the series which ended in Hyderabad, the Men in Blue is all set to face South Africa in another three-match T20I series starting Wednesday (September 28) in Trivandrum.
Alongwith Shami, all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who is currently down with a back injury and wasn’t available for the Sunday’s decider in Hyderabad, is also set to miss the South Africa series.
A report in Cricbuzz said that Shami has not travelled with the Indian team to Thiruvananthapuram, the venue for the first game. Umesh Yadav, who was announced as a replacement for Shami, has travelled with the team, which indicated that he will be part of the South Africa series too.
“There is no medical update about the time that will take for him to be fully fit but currently it does not look good,” a source was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Notably, Shami is among four standbys for the upcoming T20 World Cup, schedule to be held in Australia. The veteran pacer has not played a T20I after the last World Cup in UAE.
Meanwhile, Hooda, has injured his back and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said which was the reason he was not available for selection for the third T20I against Australia. “Deepak Hooda wasn’t available for selection for this game owing to a back injury,” the Indian board had said on Sunday ahead of the series decider between India and Australia.
“It has now turned out that Hooda’s injury could be needing attention of the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy. He has also not travelled to Thiruvananthapuram and Shreyas Iyer, who was announced as a standby for the series, could come in as Hooda’s replacement,” the report further added.
Notably, the South Africa series will be the last T20I bilateral series for Team India before the T20 World Cup, which will kick-off on October 16 in Australia.
India squad for South Africa T20Is:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Shreyas Iyer (likely)