India and South Africa will contest in a 3-T20I series starting Wednesday, September 28, in Thiruvananthapuram. This is the last T20I series for both teams before they fly out to Australia for next month’s T20 World Cup.
Both the teams are coming off a 2-1 T20I series victory – India over Australia and South Africa over England. This upcoming rubber offers the teams a last chance to finalize their combination and iron out the remaining chinks.
However, both are without a few of their stalwarts due to injury or rest.
Here are 3 key players who will miss the India-South Africa T20I series due to injury:
Deepak Hooda
It is really a big miss for Deepak Hooda himself and for Team India that Hooda will miss the SA T20I series because of an injury. Looked upon as a batsman who can bowl – somewhat playing the role of Ravindra Jadeja – Hooda, who’s been named in the 15-man T20 World Cup squad, has suffered a back injury and is likely to report at the NCA.
The BCCI announced that Hooda was not available for selection from the third T20I against Australia in Hyderabad. The board has added Shreyas Iyer into the squad for the South Africa series after Hooda’s injury.
Hooda made his T20I debut earlier this year and had done well in the chances he got; a good IPL 2022 season with LSG plus his bowling ability tilted the selectors to include him in the T20 WC squad. The extent of his injury is not known yet, and India would hope Hooda is fit and available for the tournament in Australia.
Rassie van der Dussen
Rassie van der Dussen, who’s been a crucial and in-form part of the South African teams across formats over the last three years, will be a big miss for the Proteas in the series against India and the T20 World Cup.
Van der Dussen sustained an injury on his left index finger while fielding during the Manchester Test against England last month. And even though he batted in South Africa’s second innings, he clearly looked in pain. Rassie returned home after that Test and was advised for a surgery which will keep him out for close to two months. His absence has created a place for Kolpak-returnee Rilee Rossouw and Reeza Hendricks in the eleven.
Mohammad Shami
The case of Mohammed Shami is getting curious with every fresh news. First, he was included in India’s T20 World Cup reserves despite not playing a single T20I since last year. The selectors and management have banked on his vast experience, and on his IPL 2022 form for the title-winners Gujarat Titans, when Shami took 20 wickets and was a force to reckon with in the powerplay and in the middle-overs.
To get some T20Is under his belt before the T20 WC, Shami was named in the squads for the Australia and South Africa series. However, he went down with covid prior to the Australia series and has recovered yet, ruling him out of the Thiruvananthapuram T20I and most likely the entire series. This means that Shami, who hasn’t played any match since the July tour of England, will fly to Australia without any match practice for three months. Shahbaz Ahmed has been added to the squad as Shami’s replacement.
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
South Africa squad:
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Travelling Reserves: Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo
