Deepak Hooda is ruled out of the T20I series between India and South Africa starting on Wednesday, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirming he has a back injury.
The all-rounder is at NCA for further management of his injury, the board said in a statement.
Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also reported to the NCA for conditioning-related work while Arshdeep Singh has linked up with the squad in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mohammed Shami, who missed the Australia series after being named in the squad, is yet to attain full recovery from Covid-19 and will not be able to take part in the three-match T20I series.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Umesh Yadav as Shami’s replacement and Shreyas Iyer as a replacement for Hooda. Shahbaz Ahmed has also been added to the T20I squad,” the statement from the board confirmed.
Shami is part of the reserves named by India for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup while Hooda is in the main 15-member squad. The statement did not mention how long the two are expected to be sidelined.
India squad for 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.
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