Ranchi, Oct 18: Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has been rewarded for his stupendous show on the domestic circuit with a call-up in the Indian Test squad after chinaman Kuldeep Yadav was ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Nadeem has been a prolific performer for Jharkhand and India A over a period of time.
He has had back-to-back 50-plus wicket seasons for Jharkhand. The 30-year-old orthodox left-arm spinner has taken 424 wickets in 110 first-class matches with 19 five-wicket and five 10-wicket hauls.
"The decision to add Nadeem was made after Kuldeep Yadav complained of left shoulder pain on Friday," chairman of selectors MSK Prasad was quoted as saying in a BCCI press release.
Nadeem added as a cover for Kuldeep. Nobody deserves a chance more than Shahbaz....has been taking truckloads of first-class wickets for years. Home ground too. #IndvSA
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 18, 2019
In 2018, Nadeem was called up in the Indian ODI team for the T20 series against the West Indies at home but did not play a game.
The JSCA International Stadium Complex has hosted only one international Test i.e. India vs Australia in 2017. There are predictions for thundershowers for day three in Ranchi and this could result in a few interruptions. However, the remaining days are expected to be nice and bright. India would be aiming to win the third Test match and clean sweep the series in Ranchi and claim those 40 ICC Test Championship points.