Team India bounced back from 0-1 to win the 3-match T20I series against Australia as they defeated the T20I defending champions by 6 wickets on Sunday. Now, the Indian team has only 3 T20I matches before they enter the all-important T20 World Cup. They are going to lock horns with South Africa as the Proteas are going to tour India. The Indian squad for the series has already been announced, however as per the reports, Umran Malik has been announced as the standby for Mohammed Shami.
Umran Malik names as standby for Mohammed Shami
After facing a defeat against the Aussies in the first T20 game, the Indian team came back hard and won the T20 series. Their next challenge lies ahead in the form of South Africa and this will be the last chance for the team to get their combination right. Earlier, the squad for the T20Is against the Proteas was announced by the BCCI which included Mohammed Shami also. However, if reports are to be believed, Umran Malik has been named as the standby for Shami.
In the 15-men squad that was announced on 12th September by BCCI, Mohammed Shami was also included along with pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel. It turns out that Shami’s availability is still not confirmed and the young pacer Umran Malik has been put on standby in case the seasoned campaigner misses out on the South Africa T20Is.
It is to note that Mohammed Shami was part of the squad for the T20I series against Australia, but the cricketer got infected with COVID, which prevented him from taking part in the series. As per the report by InsideSport, BCCI is still not sure about Shami’s situation which led to the standby option of Umran Malik. “I am not exactly aware of the current situation regarding Shami and his fitness. The medical team will have the details about it,” said a BCCI official to InsideSport.
