The All-India Senior Selection Committee has announced Ishan Kishan as the injury replacement of KL Rahul, for the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship final against Australia, which will be played between 7-11 June. Rahul, who sustained a thigh injury in the ongoing IPL 2023, will be undergoing surgery, subsequently cutting his IPL campaign short and ruling him out of the flight to England.
To replace him, 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been roped into the side. Interestingly, Kishan is yet to make his Test debut, albeit he has made 41 appearances for India – 27 in T20Is and 14 in ODIs.
“After consultations with specialists, it has been decided that Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy for the same. He is ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s replacement,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah wrote in a statement.
Earlier, Shreyas Iyer also missed out on a possible selection owing to an injury, facilitating the comeback of Ajinkya Rahane, who has been in fine knock for Chennai Super Kings. Kishan, on the contrary, is not having the best of seasons, having scored 293 runs in 10 matches at an average of 29.30.
Decision on Unadkat, Yadav To Be Taken Later
Besides Rahul, his Lucknow Super Giants teammate, Jaydev Unadkat, and pacer Umesh Yadav are also nursing injuries – although decision on their participation will be taken closer to the fixture.
WTC Final: Jaydev Unadkat sustained a shoulder injury while bowling in nets.
(Photo: BCCI)
Jaydev Unadkat sustained a left shoulder injury by tripping over the side rope while bowling in the nets. A specialist consultation has been sought and the left-arm fast bowler is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder. A decision on his participation in the WTC final will be taken at a later stage,” Jay Shah’s statement read, providing the fans with an update on Unadkat.
WTC Final: Umesh Yadav is nursing a left hamstring injury.
(Photo: BCCI)
About Yadav’s injury, the statement further added “Umesh Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during Match 36 of TATA IPL 2023 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 26 April. The fast bowler is currently under the care of the KKR Medical Team and has started low-intensity bowling as part of his rehab process. The BCCI Medical Team is in regular touch with KKR Medical Team and is closely monitoring Umesh’s progress."
Whilst Unadkat and Yadav remain a part of the squad for now, the selectors have announced three standby players for the clash. Batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad, alongside speedster Mukesh Kumar, will all be travelling to England for the World Test Championship final.
India’s squad for WTC Final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.
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