Shabaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, has been added to India’s Test squad in Ranchi for the third Test versus South Africa, starting on October 19. After Kuldeep Yadav complained of shoulder pain on Friday, the veteran spinner was added to the squad as a cover.
Nadeem, who made his first-class debut for Jharkhand against Kerala back in 2004, has so far picked up 424 scalps in first-class cricket at an average of just over 28. During the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, he was the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, finishing with 51 and 56 wickets, respectively.
He was again among the first-class cricket wickets in the last season by taking 37 scalps. During this year’s Indian tour of West Indies, the fast left-arm orthodox bowler was also in fine form (15 wickets).
Having scored seven fifties and a century in first-class matches, Nadeem is also a useful batsman down the order.
By winning the first two tests in Visakhapatnam and Pune, India has already clinched the three-match Test series.
India’s squad for 3rd Test: Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shahbaz Nadeem
