Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm pacer, has suffered an injury and will return from Australia where he was a traveling reserve with the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Khaleel was one of the traveling pacers along with Mukesh Kumar, and Navdeep Saini.
The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on Friday, November 22, in Perth. The second Test, a day-night match, will be held at the Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
The series will then move to Brisbane, where the third Test will be played at The Gabba from December 14 to 18. The Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will take place from December 26 to 30, with the series concluding at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 3 to 7.
Yash Dayal replaces Khaleel Ahmed after he’s sent back from Australia due to injury
Left-arm seam bowler Yash Dayal has been added to India’s reserve pacers list after Khaleel Ahmed was forced to return home owing to an unidentified ailment.
Dayal, who was added to the Test team during the Bangladesh series, was in South Africa for the T20I series but did not play any games.
Khaleel got a niggle and was unable to bowl in the nets, so he went immediately to Perth from Johannesburg. The medical staff urged the Rajasthan left-armer to rest, so Dayal flew in while Khaleel flew home.
“It was a like for like replacement because the Indian team needs to do simulation for Mitchell Starc. Dayal was originally supposed to play the A Test but was sent to South Africa. If Khaleel can’t bowl then there was no point of keeping him back,” a BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on Wednesday.
Some #BGT2024 Updates:
Khaleel Ahmed @imK_Ahmed13
is injured and sent back home for recovery. He was unable to bowl in the nets and Yash Dayal has already trained for last couple of days. Unlikely Khaleel will be able to play a couple of #SMAT2024 games before #IPLAuction.…— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) November 20, 2024
It is unclear whether Khaleel would be able to play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament matches before to auction, as he has been released by the Delhi Capitals and would prefer to participate in a bidding war among franchises at the next mega auction.
The team management also held back Devdutt Padikkal as a backup for Shubman Gill, who fractured his thumb during catching practice. Padikkal is reported to play in India XI at no.3 spot in the first Test in Perth.
In the first unofficial Test against Australia ‘A’ in Mackay, Padikkal scored an impressive 88 runs. His performance improved his case for inclusion in the main team for the Perth Test.