India vs Australia 1st T20I: Team India suffered a major blow ahead of its T20 series opener against Australia. Senior seamer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the three-match T20 series against Australia after testing positive for Coronavirus. Shami's spot in India XI is expected to be filled in by Umesh Yadav, who landed at the Chandigarh airport on Sunday and headed straight for the hotel where the rest of the Indian team was staying.
With the promptness with which Umesh has been brought to Chandigarh, it seems that he will most likely play Ind vs Aus 1st T20 international in Mohali on Tuesday. If Umesh makes it to India's playing XI, then after 43 months he will be seen playing an international match in the blue jersey. Umesh last played a T20I match in February 2019, when he played against Australia in Visakhapatnam.
Even though Umesh Yadav was out of India's limited-overs team for a long time, he managed to get acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2022 auction. The senior pacer bowled strongly, ending up taking a total of 16 wickets. Umesh Yadav emerged as a lethal bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders in the powerplay.
However, some time back, Umesh was injured and was undergoing the process of rehab at the National Cricket Academy. For this reason, he returned to India in August, as he was playing county cricket in England and also went to play limited overs matches, but now suddenly he has been included in the Indian team. The T20 series between India and Australia is starting on 20th September in Mohali.