Big News: Axar Patel ruled out of T20I series against South Africa, BCCI announces Asian Games gold medallist as his replacement

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that India's star all-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the remaining two T20I matches against South Africa due to illness, and the selection committee named Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement for the remainder of the T20I series against South Africa.

Notably, Axar, who missed the third T20I against South Africa at HPCA Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala. Apart from Axar, Bumrah also missed the third clash as he rushed back home due to a personal family emergency. The BCCI mentioned that Axar is with the team in Lucknow, where he will be further medically assessed.

Who is Shahbaz Ahmed?

Shahbaz Ahmed is a southpaw spin all-rounder who represented India in three ODIs and two T20Is, where he picked up three and two wickets respectively. Shahbaz's last international outing came in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

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India vs South Africa T20I series

After registering a seven-wicket win in the third T20I, Team India are leading 2-1 in the five-match series. The fourth T20I will take place on December 17 at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The fifth T20I will take place on December 19 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India’s updated squad for last two T20Is

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed.