Mohammed Shami, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the World Cup, has a chance to get back into the India team for the upcoming series against South Africa, as the speedster has been named among 30 players for a preparatory camp. The BCCI have announced the probables for the high-profile series, which will comprise of three T20s, five ODIs and four Test matches.
If Shami makes it to the main squad for the South Africa series, the India team are going to be a threat with the ball, as other speedsters such as Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav have also been performing decenlty.
Along with Shami, Pragyan Ojha has also been selected for the camp, which is going to take place in Bengaluru from 21-27 September.
With pitches in India expected to assist the spinners, the BCCI have selected as many as seven spinners in the camp -- Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma.
Even the South Africa team are aware of the turning tracks in India, and have hence opted for three spinners in Imran Tahir, Dane Piedt and Simon Harmer.
Ashwin and Mishra are expected to lead the spin attack against South Africa in the Test series, but it will not be surprising if the Indian selectors opt for a spin-bowling all-rounder in the form of Axar or Jadeja as well.
Wriddhiman Saha, who is going to be India's first choice behind the wickets in the Test series, needs to prove his fitness in order to be picked ahead of Naman Ojha, as the Bengal keeper suffered a hamstring injury, which ruled him out of the third Test against Sri Lanka.
However, the BCCI seems to be very clear regarding the composition of the team, as they have once again overlooked senior players such as Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Shewag. The writing on the wall is pretty clear for these stalwarts of the game.
Full list of probables for the South Africa series
MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav Varun Aaron, Karun Nair, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Shami , Axar Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey.
