Axar Patel ruled out of the last two T20Is vs South Africa; LSG player named as replacement

On Monday, December 15, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the all-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the remaining two T20Is of the ongoing five-match series against South Africa due to illness.

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However, the BCCI statement included that the all-rounder will stay with the team in Lucknow, where he will be further medically assessed. On the other hand, the men’s selection committee has named Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement for the T20Is in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

For the unversed, Axar had already missed the third T20I in Dharamsala for undisclosed reasons. Interestingly, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was also unavailable for the third T20I due to personal reasons. India went ahead with Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana as their replacements.

Speaking about Axar Patel’s performances in the ongoing T20I series, he scored 23 runs off 21 balls and scalped two wickets in Cuttack in the first T20I. In the second T20I, he scored 21 runs off 21 balls and pocketed a wicket in his three-over spell in New Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has represented Team India in three ODIs and two T20Is. His last international game came against Afghanistan at the Asia Games 2023 in October. In the ongoing Syed Musthaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 season, he scored only 60 runs in five games and scalped four wickets.

India is currently in Lucknow for the fourth T20I, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, December 17. The five-match series is currently led by India at 2-1.

India’s updated squad for the last two T20Is vs SA: 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.

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