IND vs SA | Aiden Markram tests COVID-19 positive, ruled out of opening T20I

South Africa batter Aiden Makram was ruled out of the opening T20I against India after he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma confirmed the development during the toss at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. 

South Africa handed Tristian Stubbs his maiden international cap during the 1st T20I. Stubbs replaced the right-handed batter in the final playing XI against India. Markram had cleared the first round of testing along with other teammates last week after arriving in India on June 2.

"We are going to have a bowl first. We played a practice game here a couple of days ago and saw that the wicket got better to bat on. It was a bit slow and sloppy at the beginning; hopefully, we can exploit that and restrict them to a decent score and chase it down. Aiden was not available for selection as he tested positive for Covid, Stubbs comes in and it is a debut for him," Bavuma said during the toss.

Notably, the series is being played without the bio-bubble and the players are allowed to travel out of the team hotel, which raises the threat of contracting COVID-19.

Markram played a crucial role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) middle-order in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. He garnered 381 runs in 13 innings at an average of 47.63 and a strike rate of 139.05.

21-year-old Stubbs was signed by Mumbai Indians (MI) mid-season in IPL 2022, replacing English paceman Tymal Mills in the five-time champions squad. He featured in two matches for MI in the IPL 2022. Earlier, South Africa won the toss and opted to field first against India. In return, the hosts posted a mammoth score of 211, losing four wickets. 

South Africa Playing XI 

Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

India Playing XI 

Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan