India vs South Africa: Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Gill to miss the tour

New Delhi : Team India face a big blow ahead of their South Africa tour as its four key players - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, and Ishant Sharma – will be missing the upcoming tour due to their individual injuries.

All of these players were part of the Indian cricket team’s squad for the recently-concluded two-match Test series against New Zealand. There are some reports which claim that the injuries of the players was the prime reason behind delay in the announcement for the Team India squad for South Africa tour.

According to a report published in the Indian Express, Jadeja, who featured in the first Test against the Black Caps in Kanpur, has a ligament tear that will take months to heal and if he undergoes surgery, he will only get fit before the Indian Premier League next year. The 33-year-old all-rounder missed the second Test in Mumbai.

Axar has suffered a stress fracture which takes a minimum of six weeks to recuperate.

In its press release before the Mumbai Test, the BCCI had given swelling in the forearm as the reason for Jadeja missing the Test. “All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja suffered a right forearm injury during the 1st Test match in Kanpur. After undergoing scans, he was diagnosed with a swelling on his forearm. He has been advised rest and is thus ruled out of the 2nd Test in Mumbai,” the release stated.

Shubham Gill and Ishant Sharma are also injured are likely to miss the South Africa series.

India are scheduled to tour South Africa for three Tests and as many ODIs, starting from December 26 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion.