India has suffered a setback midway through the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa, with reports confirming that all-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the remainder of the contest due to illness. The development comes following the Men in Blue extending their lead to 2-1 with a convincing win in the third T20I.

Axar missed the third T20I against South Africa in Dharamsala after falling ill, with Kuldeep Yadav replacing him in the playing XI. According to a report by Sports Tak, the illness has now forced the all-rounder out of the remaining matches of the series as well. While the team is yet to announce a replacement for the left-arm spinning all-rounder. The hosts bounced back strongly in the third T20I after a heavy defeat in the second match, winning by seven wickets.

The 31-year-old was part of India’s plans in the first two T20Is of the series, played in Cuttack and Mullanpur, and made useful all-round contributions. With the bat, he scored 23 and 21 in the opening two games, while with the ball, he returned figures of 2/7 in the first T20I and 1/27 in the second. His spell in the series opener helped India bowl South Africa out for just 74, handing a massive 101-run win for India.

India yet to name Axar's replacement

In the second T20I, he was promoted to No. 3 in the batting order during a chase of 214. However, the decision did not pay off, as he managed a run-a-ball 21 and India went on to lose the match by 51 runs. His absence in the third T20I led to India going with Kuldeep. The left-arm wrist spinner partnered with Varun Chakaravarthy as India produced a solid bowling effort to restrict South Africa, before chasing down the target comfortably.

With Axar now ruled out of the remaining T20Is, Washington Sundar is seen as a potential option within the existing squad. However, Sundar is not a like-for-like replacement. Notably, there is also some uncertainty surrounding Jasprit Bumrah’s availability. The pacer missed the third T20I due to personal reasons, and an official update on whether he will return for the fourth match is still awaited.