India has suffered a setback in the present five-match T20I series against South Africa, with sources revealing that all-rounder Axar Patel will miss the remainder of the tournament owing to sickness. The development comes after the Men in Blue increased their advantage to 2-1 with a comfortable win in the third T20I.
Axar Patel missed the third T20I against South Africa at Dharamsala due to illness, and Kuldeep Yadav took his place in the playing XI.
According to Sports Tak, the all-rounder will now miss the rest of the series’ matches due to illness. The squad has yet to announce a successor for the left-arm spinning all-rounder. The hosts recovered strongly in the third T20I following a crushing setback in the second, winning by seven wickets.
The 31-year-old was part of India’s preparations for the first two T20Is of the series, which were played in Cuttack and Mullanpur, and provided valuable all-round contributions. With the bat, he scored 23 and 21 in the first two games, while with the ball, he had 2/7 in the first T20I and 1/27 in the second. His performance in the series opener helped India bowl South Africa out for 74, resulting in a stunning 101-run win.
India yet to name Axar’s replacement
In the second T20I, he was promoted to No. 3 in the batting order during a chase of 214. However, the decision did not pay off, as he managed a run-a-ball 21 and India went on to lose the match by 51 runs. His absence in the third T20I led to India going with Kuldeep. The left-arm wrist spinner partnered with Varun Chakaravarthy as India produced a solid bowling effort to restrict South Africa, before chasing down the target comfortably.
With Axar now ruled out of the remaining T20Is, Washington Sundar is seen as a potential option within the existing squad. However, Sundar is not a like-for-like replacement. Notably, there is also some uncertainty surrounding Jasprit Bumrah’s availability. The pacer missed the third T20I due to personal reasons, and an official update on whether he will return for the fourth match is still awaited.
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