India have suffered a late setback ahead of the concluding phase of their T20I series against South Africa, with all-rounder Axar Patel ruled out of the last two matches due to illness. India, meanwhile, have named Shahbaz Ahmed as Axar’s replacement for the remaining two T20Is.
"He is with the team in Lucknow where he will be further medically assessed," the BCCI said in a statement.
Axar Patel also remained unavailable for the third T20I in Dharamshala on Sunday due to illness. As for Shahbaz, he has played three ODIs and two T20Is for India. Talking about the series, India are currently leading it 2-1 after registering victories in the first and third games. The fourth T20I will be held in Lucknow on December 17.
India’s squad for final 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