Umesh Yadav replaces Jasprit Bumrah for South Africa Test series

Bumrah, who was rested for the three-match Twenty20 International series against South Africa, is suffering from a minor stress fracture in his lower back. The injury came to light during a routine radiological testing. He will now undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and will be closely monitored by the BCCI medical team.

Yadav, who was not a part of the initial squad, last played a Test series in December 2018 against Australia. He only played the second Test at Perth and picked up two wickets in the first innings.

He has been only an irregular participant in recent times, with Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma normally preferred alongside Bumrah in Tests. The 31-year-old, who debuted in 2011, has played a total of 41 Tests so far and has 119 wickets to his name at 33.47.

Bumrah's non-availability is a big blow to India's chances in the series, particularly, in light of how important he has been to their success in the long format in the last year and a half. The 25-year-old made his Test debut in January 2018 and has since picked up 62 wickets in 12 matches at an impressive average of 19.24. What is even more remarkable is that the young bowler has claimed five-wicket hauls in each of his four Test tours – to South Africa, England, Australia and West Indies.

The first Test will be played in Visakhapatnam and begins on 2 October. The other two Tests will be played in Pune (10 Oct–14 Oct) and Ranchi (19 Oct–23 Oct).

India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill