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Due to an ankle ailment, Mohammed Shami will miss the
forthcoming two-Test series in South Africa. Shami is presently under the
supervision of the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy and was not included in the
Test team that departed for Johannesburg on Friday. A “family medical
emergency” will prevent Deepak Chahar from playing in the ODI series in
South Africa, however.
The BCCI had stated that Shami was “currently
undergoing medical treatment” and that his selection in the Test squad was
contingent upon his fitness when they announced the team late last month. In a
media statement issued by the BCCI on Saturday, it was said that Shami
“was not cleared by BCCI’s medical team” and that he was thus cut
from the team.
When Shami played Australia in the World Test
Championship final in June, it was his last Test appearance. In order to manage
his workload before India’s hectic white-ball season concluded with the 2023
ODI World Cup, where Shami topped the wicket-takers’ record, he was rested for
the subsequent Caribbean tour.
The pickers have not yet announced Shami’s
replacement. The other fast bowlers in the touring team are Mohammed Siraj,
Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mukesh Kumar.
Chahar did not attend last week’s Twenty20
Internationals in South Africa either. Chahar returned to action during the
home T20Is against Australia last month, but he was limited to one
appearance—the fourth match in Raipur—before having to return home for private
reasons.
Akash Deep, who previously competed for India in the
Asian Games, has been called up to the KL Rahul-led Twenty20 Indian Premier
League team.
Another update is that Shreyas Iyer would depart the
team on December 17 after the first ODI in Johannesburg in order to be ready
for the subsequent Test matches.
Iyer is probably going to participate in the three-day
intra-squad match that precedes the Boxing Day Test. He was ruled out with a
back ailment during his final Test match in March, which was against Australia.
Iyer is probably going to take back the middle-order position that Ajinkya
Rahane had held while he was away.