Hours ahead of the first T20I between India and South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram, the BCCI added Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Shahbaz Ahmed to the home team’s squad for the three-match series.

The three players have been included in the squad after Deepak Hooda got ruled out of the series due to a back injury while Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar reported to the NCA for conditioning-related work.

“Deepak Hooda is ruled out of the upcoming Mastercard South Africa Tour of India after sustaining a back injury. The all-rounder is at NCA for further management of his injury,” BCCI said in a statement on Wednesday (September 28).

“Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have also reported to the NCA for conditioning-related work while Arshdeep Singh has linked up with the squad in Thiruvananthapuram,” it added.

The Indian cricket board also confirmed that veteran pacer Mohammad Shami is yet to recover from COVID-19 and Umesh Yadav, his replacement from the Australia series, will continue to travel with the team for the South Africa series.

“Mohd. Shami is yet to attain full recovery from COVID-19 and will not be able to take part in the three-match T20I series. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Umesh Yadav as Shami’s replacement and Shreyas Iyer as a replacement for Hooda. Shahbaz Ahmed has also been added to the T20I squad,” the statement read.

India’s squad for South Africa T20Is:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Akshar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed.