India on Monday called up right-arm bowler Jasprit Bumrah in place of their star bowler Mohammed Shami, in their squad for their three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series in Australia. Shami, who was set to return in the Indian cricket team after a very long injury lay off, was ruled out of the entire tour of Australia because of a hamstring injury that he suffered after reaching Australia. There is no timeline set for the return of Shami, and India will have to spend some nervous moment as they gear up for the ICC World T20 2016, which they will be hosting for the first time ever.
Meanwhile, the likes of Barinder Sran and Manish Pandey are going through a trial by fire in just their debut series but Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels there is nothing unfair about putting them up against a rampaging Australia as the team needs a “brave” bunch of youngsters going forward. India have already conceded the ongoing ODI series against Australia after going down in the third match in Melbourne as well. The youngsters have not quite made a resounding impact but by Dhoni’s own admission, it is too early to judge them on performance. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia 2015-16, 3rd ODI at MCG
Sran has been decent in his three outings so far, bagging three wicket in the process. Pandey came in to bat at 276/4 with four overs left in the Brisbane ODI. Despite his IPL showings, he is not a slam-bang cricketer and yet had to go for it, managing 6 runs off 5 balls in the end. “If you are getting a chance to play for your country, irrespective of the situation, it isn’t unfair. As captain that’s what you have to communicate to these youngsters,” said Dhoni in Melbourne, the venue of the third ODI.