Indian Pacer Mohammed Shami who was earlier ruled out of the T20 series against Australia after being tested Covid positive has now been ruled out of the series against South Africa as well. What has been more disappointing for the pacer is that he was ruled out on the very day he was tested negative for Covid.
Mohammed Shami was interestingly not included in the Indian Asia Cup squad, however, after India’s unexpected exit from the tournament, which was largely due to the weak bowling performance, the right-arm pacer was brought back into the side for the T20Is against Australia and South Africa. Shami was also selected as a standby player for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
However, the right-arm quick was tested positive for Covid on the 17th of September, just a couple of days before the 1st IND vs AUS T20. Subsequently, he was ruled out of the entire series. Just a few hours before the first game of the 3-match IND vs SA T20 series, Shami has again been replaced by Umesh Yadav. The BCCI took this decision stating “he is yet to attain full recovery from COVID-19.”
Shami misses another series due to Covid, posts his Negative report on Instagram
Just a few hours after BCCI announced his exclusion from the SA T20Is, Shami posted his negative covid report on his Instagram story and wrote “Negative”. It could be sensed from his cryptic post that the 32-year-old was quite disappointed with the way things have been for him recently. Despite earing his place in the squad, the pacer has not been able to play a single game.
Good news:- Mohammed Shami has tested negative for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/6hj53RjrER
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) September 28, 2022
Alongside Mohammed Shami, Deepak Hooda is another player who was ruled out of the series, though he was excluded due to his back spasms. Shreyas Iyer has been brought into the side to replace hooda. Shahbaz Ahmed was the third addition that was made into the side this morning.
