Deepak Hooda’s absence from the T20I series against South Africa has been officially announced by the BCCI on Wednesday due to a back issue. Meanwhile, India’s team for the series has been expanded to include Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Shahbaz Ahmed. Mohammed Shami’s continued “partial recovery” from the Covid-19 infection, which keeps him off the team for the T20I series, was also verified by the BCCI.
Deepak Hooda is replaced by Shreyas Iyer, who is one of the standbys for the T20 World Cup in October-November. Umesh Yadav, who had replaced Shami in the T20Is against Australia, returns in the same capacity for the South Africa series.
Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who are resting for the T20Is against the Proteas, also received an update from the BCCI.
Arshdeep Singh has joined the team in Thiruvananthapuram, according to a release from the BCCI. “Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also reported to the NCA for conditioning-related training,” the release from the BCCI read.
Due to his injury, Hooda, a right-handed batter for India, will miss all six of his team’s home matches in the six weeks leading up to the T20 World Cup. Hooda is a member of the 15-person roster. Shami will also be required to miss all T20 Internationals but will still travel to Australia with the Indian team because he has been selected as one of the standbys for the prestigious international competition. With the exception of Bhuvneshwar and Hardik’s required absences and rests, India will primarily feature the side that will travel to the World Cup in October.Here’s the updated Indian squad for the 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, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed.