Team India have added right-arm speedster Avesh Khan into their squad for the 2nd Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, starting on January 3rd, 2024. Khan, who is yet to make his Test debut, has been named as a replacement for Mohammed Shami, whose ankle injury ruled him out of the leg.
Shami was ruled out of the series after failing to recover from the ankle injury supposedly suffered during the 2023 World Cup. The tourists didn't name a replacement earlier, but Avesh has been drafted in ahead of the 2nd Test.
Avesh was part of the preceding ODI series against South Africa which India won 2-1. The 27-year-old has claimed 6 wickets in 3 ODIs at 19.17 apiece as India claimed their first ODI series win in South Africa since 2018. It's worth noting that Avesh also has an impressive record in first-class cricket, taking 149 wickets in 38 fixtures at 22.65 with 7 five-wicket hauls and a couple of ten-wicket hauls.
With Prasidh Krishna having a disappointing outing in the first innings, Avesh could replace him for the 2nd Test.
Team India go down to South Africa by an innings and 132 runs in Centurion:
Led by Rohit Sharma, Team India had a forgettable outing at the Supersport Park in Centurion as South Africa thrived across facets to outplay them. KL Rahul's fighting first-innings hundred had given them a total of 245, but veteran Dean Elgar followed it up with a marathon 85 to spearhead the hosts to a lead of 163.
The Proteas' pace-bowling unit once again came to the fore as Shane Burger starred with 4 wickets. Virat Kohli was the lone silver-lining as he played a free-flowing knock of 76 off 82 deliveries. The tourists suffered another jolt as ICC fined them 10% of their match fee due to slow over-rate.
