Mohammed Siraj will replace Jasprit Bumrah in India’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the remainder of the series against South Africa.
This comes after Bumrah was removed from the team. It is believed that Siraj would meet up with the squad in Guwahati later on today to get ready for the second Twenty20 International that will take place on Sunday.
Siraj was called up late because there were fresh worries about Bumrah’s injury.
The NCA Medical Panel Will Decide Bumrah’s Participation
Before the National Cricket Academy’s medical team can make a final determination about Bumrah’s participation in the Twenty20 World Cup, the bowler is needed to have scans performed on his lower back in Bengaluru.
These scans will take place before the staff makes their judgment. These scans led to the selection of Siraj as the winner.
Since India’s match against Sri Lanka back in February, Siraj has not participated in a Twenty20 International for India. At this moment, he is mostly seen as a possibility for the red-ball format of the game.
He played for Warwickshire versus Somerset in his most recent encounter, which took place earlier this month, and he bagged five wickets in that game. This was the only time he participated in a team activity.
Siraj has only competed in a total of five Twenty20 Internationals up to this point, accumulating the same number of wickets while keeping his economy rate at 10.45.
However, beginning in the year 2020, he established himself as a dependable player for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The organization decided to retain him as one of three players before the auction for this season.
Not just Siraj, but also the other members of the squad were brought in at the very last second. The players Shreyas Iyer, Umesh Yadav, and Shahbaz Ahmed joined the team in the last few minutes before the opening game of the series.
Iyer Replaced Deepak Hooda
Iyer entered the match in place of the injured Deepak Hooda, who is also being cared for at the NCA by the medical staff of the BCCI.
During this time, Umesh covered for Mohammed Shami, who is now recuperating from Covid-19 after receiving negative test results. Iyer has taken over for Deepak Hooda. Umesh was brought in to replace Mohammed Shami.
In the meanwhile, Shahbaz has replaced Hardik Pandya, who is participating in “conditioning-related activities” at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
The Twenty20 International match that will be played in Guwahati on Sunday will be followed by the match that will end the series in Indore on Tuesday. Both matches will take place in India.
The group that will be competing in the World Cup is slated to fly to Australia later that week, and while they are there, they will conduct a short training camp in Brisbane.
Australia Will Play Host to The World Cup
The World Cup will take place in Australia.
It is expected that the selectors would choose a second-string side for the one-day international series against South Africa and that Shikhar Dhawan will serve as the captain of that team.
In the second and third Twenty20 Internationals, the following players will represent India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Umesh
