SA vs IND 2nd Test: Uncapped fast bowler Avesh Khan has been included in India’s Test squad for the second Test against South Africa. The decision came the next morning when South Africa handed a humiliating defeat to the Indian team in just three days of the Centurion Test. The second & last Test will begin on January 3 in Cape Town. Avesh Khan comes in as Mohammed Shami’s replacement who will miss the Test series due to an ankle injury.
Avesh is already in South Africa to play for the India A squad after featuring in a three-match ODI series earlier in December. He is currently playing the second four-day game in Benoni where he registered a five-wicket haul on the third day. So far Avesh Khan has played 38 first-class games registering 149 wickets at an average of 22.65 with seven five-wicket haul. He was also the leading wicket-taker for Madhya Pradesh in the last Ranji Trophy season with 38 scalps from eight games.
Mohammed Shami was named in the initial squad subjecting to fitness clearance. However, he was not cleared from the BCCI medical team on fitness grounds & was ruled out of the series as well. For the unversed, the prolific bowler has made his debut in ODI & T20I last year.
India has received two Points Penalty for slow over-rate
India have been penalized for a slow over-rate during the first Test against South Africa. They have been docked two WTC Points & 10% match fee due to their poor performance in the first Test. The fixture ended within three days saw India lose dismally & the penalty comes as a worry for them.
“India captain Rohit Sharma pled guilty to the offense and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” stated ICC in their statement.
India’s loss has resulted in the team moving down to the fifth spot at the WTC 2023-2025 Points Table. Before receiving the penalty India was placed in the fifth spot with 16 Points & a PCT of 44.44. After the penalty, their rankings dropped two points down below Australia to the sixth spot with a PCT of 38.39. They will play the Boxing Day Test beginning on January 3 at Newlands Cape Town.
SA vs IND 2nd Test: India squad for 2nd Test
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Avesh Khan
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