In a major development, pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, while Deepak Chahar has withdrawn from the ODIs due to a family emergency. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made this announcement through an official press release on Saturday.
According to the release, “Mr Mohd Shami, whose participation in the Test series was subject to fitness, has not been cleared by the BCCI Medical Team and is ruled out of the two Tests.”
Deepak Chahar, on the other hand, made himself unavailable for the ODI series due to a family medical emergency. As a replacement, Bengal’s right-arm pacer Akash Deep has been named by the Men’s Selection Committee.
“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 release said.
Shami’s involvement in the two-match Test series was subject to his fitness, but the BCCI did not clear the fast bowler, who is recovering from an ankle injury.
In addition to the bowling changes, the BCCI mentioned that batter Shreyas Iyer won’t be part of the ODI side in the 2nd and 3rd matches. Instead, he will join the preparations for the upcoming Test series.
Moreover, India’s coaching staff, including head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and fielding coach T Dilip, will not be part of the ODI series. They will join the Test squad to oversee their preparations for the inter-squad game and the Test series.
The Indian team, currently in South Africa, has completed the scheduled three-match T20I series by drawing it. They will now transition to the ODI series starting on December 17 in Johannesburg and subsequently move on to the two Tests, set to commence on boxing day (December 26).
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