The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Monday, announced the replacement for injured KL Rahul, who recently opted out of the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship final.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will replace Rahul in Team India squad for the summit clash against Australia, scheduled to be played at The Oval, London in June.
Last week, Rahul got injured while fielding during an IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. The Karnataka batter will now undergo surgery on his right upper thigh followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the same.
In addition, fast bowlers Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav are also being monitored by the Indian medical staff.
Unadkat, a left-arm pacer, sustained a left shoulder injury during the IPL 2023 and is undergoing strength and rehab sessions. The decision on his participation in the WTC final is yet to be made. Yadav also suffered a minor left hamstring injury during the ongoing IPL and is under observation by the medical team.
The BCCI has also named three reserve players for the marquee clash against Australia. Two of these standby players are Ruturaj Gaikwad – backup opener to Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill – and Suryakumar Yadav, a talented middle-order batter.
Mukesh Kumar, who was part of the Indian Test squad during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but couldn’t make his debut, has been named as the back-up seamer and is the third reserve player. By selecting these standby players, the Indian team is prepared for any unforeseen injuries or last-minute changes that might occur before the WTC final.
India’s revised squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.