Star pacer withdraws from South African tour; Management in fix

MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team received a heavy blow on Wednesday after star seamer Mohammed Shami informed the team management about withdrawing from the South African tour. The player has not fully recovered from the ankle injury and needs time to recuperate.

The senior players who are not part of the ODI and T20 squads will leave for South Africa on December 15. This team will include Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Navdeep Saini and others.

Meanwhile, BCCI has not announced Mohammad Shami's replacement yet. The announcement will be made only before the start of the first Test on December 26. As different teams have been sent to tour in all three formats, it is expected that the management will select one seamer from the squad as Shami’s replacement.

Shami is very dangerous on South African pitches that rely on pace and bounce. So filling the void left by the star is a challenge for the Rohit Sharma-led team. The player, who had a spectacular performance in the World Cup was also the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

After the defeat in the World Cup final, India is aiming for the title in the World Test Championship.