Jasprit Bumrah, who became the second Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in T20Is on December 9, missed the third T20I of the ongoing five-match series between India and South Africa in Dharamsala on Sunday
(December 15) due to personal reasons. While speaking to Ravi Shastri after winning the toss at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that Bumrah missed the game due to personal reasons.
“We have two forced changes. Axar Patel misses out because he is not well, and Bumrah misses out because he has some personal reasons back home,” Surya said.
After Surya’s announcement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also shared a post on X which read, “Jasprit Bumrah has gone back home for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the game. An update on him joining the squad for the remaining matches will be provided in due course.”
A day after India secured a 7-wicket win in Dharamsala to go 2-1 up in the series, a BCCI source told news agency PTI that Bumrah was forced to fly back home because a very close family member of his is currently hospitalised.
According to the source, if all goes well, Bumrah might return for the fourth or fifth game, but the first priority is the recovery of the family member.
“If all goes well, then he might return for the fourth or even fifth game (in Ahmedabad). But first priority is recovery of his family member,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.
In Bumrah’s absence, Harshit Rana was included in India’s playing XI for the third T20I, and the Delhi-based pacer picked up two wickets for 34 runs in his quota of four overs.
If Bumrah is not available for the fourth T20I in Lucknow on Wednesday (December 17), then Harshit will continue to be part of the playing XI.
Axar ruled out
All-rounder Axar Patel also missed the third T20I in Dharamsala on Sunday, and on Monday he was ruled out of the remaining two matches as well due to illness. As his replacement, Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has been added to India’s squad.
