India vs South Africa: Injured Mohammed Shami To Miss Test Series, Says BCCI

India vs South Africa: Speedster Mohammed Shami, who wreaked havoc opponent's batting order during the ICC Cricket World Cup to help India emerge victorious on several occasions, will miss the upcoming test series against South Africa. Team India is slated to play two tests on South Africa's tour starting from December 26 to January 7 at the Centurion and the Cape Town.

Ahead of the red ball series, team India will lock horns with Proteas in 3 ODI matches. According to the reports, Mohammed Shami will miss the test series due to an ankle injury. Shami was not a part of the T20 and ODI squads and is now likely to miss the test series. However, the BCCI is monitoring the pacer's fitness closely at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Earlier, while announcing the squads for the Africa tour, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that Shami was "currently undergoing medical treatment" and his inclusion was subject to fitness.

Giving a big blow to the team and Indian fans, the BCCI, in a statement, on Saturday said "was not cleared by BCCI's medical team" and his name has been withdrawn from the squad.

The board has not named any replacement for Shami yet. In his absence, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Shardul Thakur will take care of India's pace department.

Shami last featured in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2022.

Following a family medical emergency, pacer Deepak Chahar will also miss the ODI series against South Africa.

India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj.