Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, has been added to India’s Test squad for the third Test versus South Africa in Ranchi, starting on October 19. The veteran spinner was added to the squad as cover after Kuldeep Yadav complained of shoulder pain on Friday.
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Nadeem, who made his first-class debut way back in 2004 for Jharkhand versus Kerala, has picked up 424 scalps at an average of just over 28 in first-class cricket so far. He was the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, ending with 51 and 56 wickets respectively.
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In the last season, he was again among the wickets in first-class cricket, taking 37 scalps. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler was also in fine form (15 wickets) during India A’s tour of West Indies this year. Nadeem is also a useful batsman lower down the order, having scored seven fifties and one century in first-class games.
India have already clinched the three-match Test series by winning the first two Tests in Visakhapatnam and Pune.
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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
