Mohammed Shami, the outstanding Indian pacer, will not play in the forthcoming Test series against South Africa, which is a major setback. Notably, Shami still doesn’t feel fully recovered from the 2023 World Cup ankle injury. He was therefore not permitted to play in the two-match series in their backyard against the Proteas.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will soon make an announcement about his replacement.

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Additionally, Deepak Chahar, a premier swing bowler, has withdrawn from the ODI series, which begins tomorrow. Due to a family medical situation, the seamer has notified the BCCI that he will not be available for the ODI leg. In place of Chahar, talented RCB bowler Akash Deep has joined India’s ODI squad.

“Due to a family medical situation, Deepak Chahar has notified the BCCI that he will be unavailable for the forthcoming ODI series. The Men’s Selection Committee has chosen Mr. Akash Deep to succeed him, the BCCI said.

On December 17, the first ODI of the series, Batter Shreyas Iyer, will only be accessible. After that, he will join the test team and stop playing in the white-ball series.

“Shreyas Iyer will join the Test squad to prepare for the Test series after the first ODI in Johannesburg ends on December 17. He will participate in the inter-squad match but won’t be eligible for the second or third ODI, according to BCCI.

The BCCI also announced that Rahul Dravid, the head coach, and the regular support personnel will not be leading the three-match ODI series. As a means of getting ready for the forthcoming test series, they will instead be in charge of the intersquad games, which emphasizes how important it is to the management to win the test series in Rainbow Nation.

“Coach Rahul Dravid of Team India (Senior Men), Coach Vikram Rathour of Batting, Coach Paras Mhambrey of Bowling, and Coach T. Dilip of Fielding will work with the Test team to manage their preparations for both the intersquad match and the Test series,” according to the announcement.

The batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, the bowling coach Rajib Datta, and the fielding coach, Ajay Ratra, will be part of India A support staff, which will be captained by wicketkeeper K.L. Rahul in the absence of the regulars,.

India’s updated ODI squad for South Africa series: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudarshan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C) (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep.