DHARAMSHALA, India, Dec 14— India were forced into two changes for the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday, with Jasprit Bumrah returning home for personal reasons and Axar Patel ruled out due to illness, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said.
The BCCI confirmed the developments in a statement on X, saying Axar was unavailable because of sickness, while Bumrah had left the squad temporarily. “An update on him joining the squad for the remaining matches will be provided in due course,” the board added.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed the changes at the toss, calling them unavoidable. “We’ve made two forced changes. Axar Patel misses out as he’s unwell, and Jasprit Bumrah misses out due to personal reasons back home,” he said. “Harshit Rana comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav comes in.”
With Bumrah and Axar unavailable, India opted to adjust their bowling combination by bringing in pacer Harshit Rana and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav as they look to stay competitive in the series.
South Africa named an unchanged XI led by Aiden Markram, with Quinton de Kock keeping wickets and a pace-heavy attack featuring Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi.
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
South Africa XI: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (captain), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
