Mohammed Shami looks set to be the beneficiary of Jasprit Bumrah’s withdrawal from India’s T20 World Cup squad ahead of their final ODI series against South Africa.
India welcome the Proteas for what will be the teams’ final white-ball multi-game stand prior to the tournament in Australia later this month.
Bumrah, the International Cricket Council’s number-one ranked bowler in the 50-over format as recently as July, has been ruled out with a reported back stress fracture.
That has seemingly opened the door for Shami, who faces a race to prove match fitness following a bout with Covid-19, though coach Rahul Dravid has hinted the team may wait as late as they can for him.
“In terms of who the replacement is, we’ll have a look,” he stated. “We’ll see, we’ve got time till October 15.
“Shami obviously is someone who’s in the standbys, but unfortunately for us, he couldn’t play this series, which would have been ideal from that perspective.
“He’s in the NCA at the moment. We’ll have to get reports as to how he’s recovering, and what’s his status after 14-15 days of Covid.
“We’ll take a call, once I get reports on how he’s feeling, then we can take a call and the selectors can take a call on how we move forward on it.”
South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw, meanwhile, hopes that the springboard of a consolation win in the pair’s T20 series can help push the Proteas on towards success over the coming weeks.
“Obviously [it is] not the series result we wanted but going into the World Cup, the last game, the momentum is something we did we need,” he added.
In-form hosts seek to reverse prior defeat
With seven consecutive wins in the 50-over format to their name, India head into this match in their best form since 2017.
Then, they put together a nine-game winning run across ODIs, and this three-game series presents both the chance to smash that history and make amends.
South Africa have been difficult opponents in recent times for India, with the Proteas having won their last three encounters, and four of their last five bilateral series.
𝐂. 𝐇. 𝐀. 𝐌. 𝐏. 𝐈. 𝐎. 𝐍. 𝐒! 🏆
Congratulations to #TeamIndia on winning the T20I series win against South Africa. 👏 👏#INDvSA | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/VWuSL7xf8W
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2022
In addition, they will be looking to avoid consecutive away losses in ODIs for the first time since 2019, having suffered a 118-run defeat to England in their last such outing.
Spin bowler Tabraiz Shamsi is eyeing up the half-century mark when it comes to wickets in the format
Kuldeep Yadav is also seeking to make history with the ball, as he chases 19th on India’s all-time ODI wicket-taker list, with four more set to take him past Ishant Sharma’s tally of 115.
Source:livescore.com