South Africa Test Series Likely To Be Ishant Sharma’s Final Hurrah: Reports

As per reports in Indian Express, the South Africa tour might be the last one for veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been given a warning as well as reported by a senior BCCI official. The squad is about to leave for South Africa on December 16 with the first Test starting from December 26 in Centurion. 

The trio might need to call time to their Test careers if they do not perform upto the expectations as reported by the BCCI official. 

“Rahane’s removal as vice-captain is a clear warning signal to him. As a senior member in the side, he needs to contribute more. Same is true for Pujara also. He too has been around for a long time and now the team expects him to play those crucial knocks in big games. In case they score and have a significant impact on the series, they might be able to extend their Test careers. But in the case of Ishant, this could be it,” a top BCCI official told The Indian Express.

Almost The End For Ishant Sharma

Over the past 12 months, Ishant has played eight Tests, taking 14 wickets at 32.71. Both Rahane and Pujata have also endured a tough time in the format. Selectors are of the opinion that only big runs can save The experienced duo and that the regular 40-50s will not be of any good.

“They have to score big runs (to avoid the axe), not 40s and 50s.”

Ajinkya Rahane & Cheteshwar Pujara Under Pressure To Perform

 The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hanuma Vihari amongst others are ready to replace the experienced duo. 

On the bowling front with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami pairing up well with Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur also in the mix, the veteran pacer might find it difficult to break through. Ishant went wicketless in the first Test against the Kiwis before being benched for the second and final Test.

Squad: Virat Kohli (Capt),Rohit Sharma(vc), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(wk), Wriddhiman Saha(wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj. pic.twitter.com/6xSEwn9Rxb

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 8, 2021

South Africa vs India 2021-22 – Schedule

1st Test – Dec 26-30 – Centurion

2nd Test – Jan 03-07 – Johannesburg

3rd Test – Jan 11-15 – Cape Town

1st ODI – Jan 19 – Paarl

2nd ODI – Jan 21 – Paarl

3rd ODI – Jan 23 – Cape Town