IND vs SA 2022: “Shahbaz Ahmed has joined the team” - Vikram Rathour confirms all-rounder part of Indian squad for South Africa T20Is

Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has confirmed that all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and batter Shreyas Iyer will be part of the squad for the three-match T20I series against South Africa. He also stated that Arshdeep Singh, who was at the NCA for conditioning-related work, has joined the team.

Following the series win over Australia, India will take on South Africa in three T20Is, with the first game to be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28. Ahead of the series, there were reports stating that pacer Mohammed Shami and batter Deepak Hooda would be unavailable for the T20Is against the Proteas.

While Shami is yet to recover from COVID-19, Hooda picked up a back injury during the series against Australia. All-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will also be unavailable as it is their turn to report to the NCA for conditioning-related work.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Rathour was asked to confirm the replacements. He replied:

“There are only three replacements that I think are coming through. Arsh (Arshdeep Singh) has joined the team, Shahbaz Ahmed has joined the team and we're expecting Shreyas (Iyer) to be here by evening. Who plays in the XI, that decision will be taken tomorrow before the game.”

Ahmed is yet to make his debut for India, while Shreyas’ last international match was during the tour of West Indies in August.

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“Will depend on that day” - Vikram Rathour on whether Pant and Karthik would get more batting opportunities

Speaking after the series win over Australia, Indian captain Rohit Sharma admitted that he wanted Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik to get more game time ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Asked if that was likely to happen against the Proteas, Rathour replied:

“That will depend on that day. We’ll try and give as much opportunity to everyone who will be involved in the World Cup. How and when that will happen depends on the game that we are playing and the surfaces we are playing on.”

Karthik scored six, 10* and one* in the T20I series against the Aussies. Pant was picked for the shortened match in Nagpur, but did not get an opportunity to bat. In the preceding Asia Cup in the UAE, he registered scores of 14, 17 and 20*.