Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel were both left out of India’s playing XI for the third T20I against South Africa, a development that surprised many fans.
The duo have been regular features in India’s T20 setup and have delivered consistent performances.
To address the speculation, BCCI issued an official clarification through its social media channels explaining the reasons behind their absence.
BCCI’s post on X
🚨 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 – 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝟐𝟎𝐈: 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚
Axar Patel is unavailable for the third T20I due to illness.
Jasprit Bumrah has gone back home for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the game. An update on him joining the squad for the remaining matches…
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 14, 2025
Bumrah Returns Home for Personal Reasons
BCCI confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah has returned home due to personal reasons, making him unavailable for the third T20I.
As a result, Team India was forced to make changes to the playing XI. The board also stated that an update regarding Bumrah’s availability for the remaining matches of the series will be shared in due course.
In the two matches he played in IND vs SA T20I series, Bumrah picked up two wickets, though he went wicketless in the second T20I.
Axar Patel Ruled Out Due to Illness
All-rounder Axar Patel also missed the third T20I after falling ill. BCCI revealed that his health condition ruled him out of the match as a precautionary measure.
Axar had a solid outing in the first two T20Is, contributing 44 runs with the bat and taking three wickets with the ball.
With both players unavailable, India had to reshuffle their combination for the crucial third match, while fans await further updates on Bumrah’s return and Axar’s recovery.
India Playing XI for IND vs SA 3rd T20I: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
