Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the T20I series between SA and IND; Beuran Hendricks will take his place.

Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi injury has kept him out of South Africa’s three-match Twenty20 International series against India, which kicks off on Sunday, December 10. The right-arm seamer, who also played for South Africa in the 2023 ODI World Cup, sprained his left lateral ankle.

The 27-year-old will now get rehabilitation under the guidance of the South African medical staff after being dismissed from the T20I squad.

Prior to the crucial Test series against India that starts on December 26, Lungi Ngidi condition will be further evaluated to see if he will play.

Lungi Ngidi replacement, Beuran Hendricks, has been named following his injury. The left-arm seamer, who made his Twenty20 international debut in 2014, has represented his country in 19 games and taken 25 wickets.

As for the first Twenty20 International, India has arrived in Durban. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, though, has not yet been added to the team, according to a report in Cribuzz. The southpaw, who is also the T20I team’s vice captain for the next series, will travel from Europe to South Africa alongside a few other players.

Deepak Chahar, a seam bowling all-rounder, hasn’t joined the squad yet either because of a family situation. Notably, Chahar’s father passed away after a brain stroke just before India’s fifth Twenty20 international match against Australia in Bengaluru. Because of this, the all-rounder missed the series’ last game and flew home to be with his family.

In four T20I series in South Africa, India has won three of them.

After a significant improvement in his health, his father, Lokendra Singh Chahar, was allegedly released from Mithraj Hospital in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. As a result, Chahar’s presence in South Africa to join the T20I and ODI squads is not definite. Additionally, no successor has been named by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

India is aiming to maintain its strong performance in T20Is in South Africa in the meantime. Of particular note, the Men in Blue defeated the Proteas in their T20I debut in 2006 and went on to win the first-ever T20 World Cup in the Rainbow Kingdom in 2007. In the four T20I series that India has played away from home against South Africa, they have won three of them. They will want to build on their impressive record this time around.