SA vs IND: Mohammed Shami ruled out of Test series, Deepak Chahar withdraws from ODIs

NEW DELHI,DEC 16 : Two experienced India pacers have been ruled out from the tour of South Africa. Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the Test series, while Deepak Chahar has requested a withdrawal from the ODIs. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the development on Saturday 16 December via an official press release. Shami’s availability in the 2-match Test series was subject to fitness and the BCCI has not cleared the player, who is recovering from an ankle injury.

“Mr Mohd Shami, whose participation in the Test series was subject to fitness has not been cleared by the BCCI Medical Team and the fast bowler is ruled out of the two Tests,” BCCI stated in a release.

Deepak Chahar on the other hand, has informed BCCI that he will not be available. The pacer is currently going through a family emergency.

“Mr Deepak Chahar has informed the BCCI that he will not be available for the upcoming ODI series due to a family medical emergency. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Mr Akash Deep as his replacement,” the BCCI informed.

The BCCI also mentioned in their release that batter Shreyas Iyer will not be a part of the ODI side in the 2nd and 3rd matches and will instead join the preparations for the Test series. Iyer is a crucial member of the Test team due to his role in the middle-order.

The Indian team will be captained by KL Rahul who returns to cricketing action for the first time since the ODI World Cup 2023. Rahul skipped the T20I series, where India were captained by Suryakumar Yadav.

India’s Updated ODI Squad

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep.

-PTI