Ranchi: Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was added to India's squad for the third Test against South Africa, starting here on Saturday.He was handed the test cap by captain virat kohli. Ishant Sharma was made to sit on the bench in his presence.
Earlier, According to the BCCI statement, the Selection Committee took the decision to add Nadeem in the squad after Kuldeep Yadav complained of left shoulder pain on Friday.
Nadeem, 30, has been waiting in the wings for the last few seasons where he has been successful in domestic and India A circuits. He made his first-class debut way back in 2004 for Jharkhand and has picked up 424 scalps at an average of just over 28 in first-class cricket so far.
Left arm spinner was also the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, ending with 51 and 56 wickets respectively.In the last season, Nadeem was again among the wickets in first-class cricket, taking 37 scalps.
Since Nadeem plays for Jharkhand, he has plenty of experience bowling at the JSCA stadium in Ranchi, the venue for the final Test.India have already clinched the three-match Test series by winning the first two Tests in Visakhapatnam and Pune.
India's squad for 3rd Test:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shahbaz Nadeem (UNI)
