Mohammed Shami tested positive for COVID 19, Umesh Yadav named replacement for the Australia series
Ahead of the three-match T20I series against Australia, pacer Mohammed Shami has tested positive for COVID19. This is the second time a member of the Indian team has tested positive for the disease in the last one month. Ahead of the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022, head coach Rahul Dravid tested positive for the deadly disease. He recovered just before the tournament and joined the team.
Now, with only two days left at the start of the series, Shami has tested positive. He is currently isolated and will join the team later after recovering. However, there is a high chance that the right-arm pacer might be out of the series as the three games will be played within five days. The 32-year-old has been replaced by Umesh Yadav, who played his last white-ball game way back in February 2019.
Originally, he was supposed to undergo a rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Yadav sustained a quad injury which abruptly ended his County stint with Middlesex. Now, the 34-year-old will join the team in Mohali where the first game will be played. Umesh did well for Kolkata in the Indian T20 League 2022 with the new ball.
Umesh Yadav did well in the white-ball games this year
Most of the wickets during the league were with the new ball. He played 12 games in the season and picked 16 wickets at an average of 21.19 with the best figures of 23/4. Also, he did well for Middlesex in the Royal London One Day Cup. In the seven games he played, he took 16 wickets. However, given his recent injury bout, it begs a question of whether he will be available for play or not.
On the other hand, Shami hasn’t played a game since the England tour in July this year. He was selected in the team given his experienced and exploits during the 15th season of the cash-rich league. For Gujarat, he took 20 wickets in 16 games
