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The Men in Blue have been dealt with a major blow as their senior seamer Deepak Chahar twisted his ankle during a training session. Notably, Chahar warmed the bench in the first ODI against South Africa, played in Lucknow on 6 October and is likely to miss the remaining two ODIs of the series. India suffered a nine-run loss in the opening ODI of the three-match series, going down 0-1.
A source close to the team selection spoke to PTI about the same. “Deepak has sustained a twisted ankle but it’s not too serious. However a few days rest might be advisable”, said the source as quoted by Times of India.
The side will next face South Africa on Sunday, 9 October as they eye to level the series after their loss in the series opener. Talking about the first game, India invited Temba Bavuma-led South Africa to bat first after winning the toss in a rain-curtailed 40 overs a side game. The Proteas posted 249/4 on the back of brilliant knock by Quinton de Kock, David Miller & Heinrich Klaasen.
On the other hand, it wasn't a great outing for the hosts as they slipped to 51/4 in 17.4 overs. But Sanju Samson took charge as he batted deep with a knock of 86 off 63 balls to get close to the target. Shreyas Iyer’s half-century and a quick cameo by Shardul Thakur could not help the side cross the line with Lungi Ngidi & Kagiso Rabada striking for South Africa.
Talking about Team India’s T20 World Cup squad, Mohammad Shami is the frontrunner to replace injured Jasprit Bumrah in the 15-member squad. However, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed SIraj, Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Choudhary are all set to travel to Australia as standby players & net bowlers.
The Men in Blue will start their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 23 October at the MCG.