Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India were forced to make two changes to their playing XI for the third T20I against South Africa at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday. The hosts brought in Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have now confirmed that Bumrah was unavailable due to personal reasons, while all-rounder Axar missed out owing to an illness.
“Axar Patel is unavailable for the third T20I due to illness. Jasprit Bumrah has gone back home for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the game,” the BCCI’s media team confirmed right after the toss for the third T20I.
“An update on him joining the squad for the remaining matches will be provided in due course,” the update added.
Bumrah will be a big miss for India as he has the knack of picking wickets. The first game of the series saw him take two wickets; however, he wasn’t at his best in the second T20I, going wicketless and conceding 45 runs in his quota of four overs.
On the other hand, Axar scored 23 and 21 in the first two T20Is, and he was even promoted to the No.3 slot in the 214 chase in Mullanpur.
The third T20I is of key importance for both India and South Africa, considering the five-match series stands on level terms. The second match of the five-game series saw the hosts go down comprehensively after India failed to chase down the target of 214.
Suryakumar Yadav identifies areas of concerns
After winning the toss in the third T20I and opting to bowl, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that he would want his side to be switched on for the entire duration of the match.
“Hopefully, when we bat and bowl, we can give everyone some good entertainment. Every game is important. The way they played in the second game showed the beauty of this sport. What matters most is how you come back, and that’s what we want to do tonight, play our best game, enjoy ourselves, and be fearless,” said Suryakumar in a chat with Ravi Shastri at the toss.
“If we stay switched on for all three hours, that will be key for us. It looks like a good pitch,” he added.
On the other hand, South Africa also made three changes to their playing XI, bringing in Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje and Tristan Stubbs.
Here are the playing XIs:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
