T20 World Cup 2022: Team India to travel to Australia without Jasprit Bumrah's replacement

The Indian team suffered a 49-run defeat in the dead rubber against South Africa in Indore on Tuesday, their final T20I ahead of the impending T20 World Cup in Australia later this month. The Indian team will fly to Australia in the aftermath of another bilateral series victory without their full quota of 15 members as the team are still assessing their options to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah.

Rohit Sharma's title aspiration took a huge dent after fast bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah was officially ruled out of the upcoming ICC event following a stress fracture. While the management announced Mohammed Siraj as the replacement for the pacer in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa they are still to name his replacement for the T20 World Cup.

While Mohammed Shami seems like the obvious choice to replace the injured bowling spearhead, the Indian team management is looking at all possible potential candidates. Shami is still recuperating from his Covid-19 infection at the NCA, and the management is expected to wait until the deadline to announce the final member of the squad, October 15, giving Shami ample time to recover.

"We've time since October 15. We've to get reports as to how he's recovering, and what's his status after 14-15 days of covid, and we'll take a call. Once I get a report on how he's feeling, then obviously we (I and the selectors) can really take a call on how to move forward on it," Indian head coach Rahul Dravid said in the post-match conference on Tuesday.

The management's decision to wait till the very last minute to announce the final member also provided opportunities to Mohammed Siraj and Deepak Chahar, who are also in contention for a place in the squad. The duo will be seen in action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa and will be keen to make a strong case for their selection in the 15-man squad for the T20 WC.