Deepak Chahar, who is among the reserves for the World Cup, has been ruled out of the final two ODIsagainst South Africa with a stiff back. Washington Sundar will be his replacement.

This is the second instance of a fast bowler suffering a back injury after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the World Cup. The selectors are yet to name a replacement for Bumrah, but with Chahar injured it is most likely that Mohammed Shami will be included in the XV.

Shami is currently undergoing post-Covid rehab at theNational Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

A BCCI media release said Chahar would head to the NCA, where he would be monitored by the medical team. Chahar had returned to competitive cricket only in August, after a six-month injury break which included back trouble.

Chahar was scheduled to fly out to Australia after the ODI series at home and it is unlikely that he will make it. It remains to be seen if someone like Umran Malik is named among the reserves.

The World Cup squad are currently in Perth for a short preparatory camp. They have seamers Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary as net bowlers.