In a recent announcement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against South. The injury prevented Gaikwad from participating in the third ODI as well, where Rajat Patidar made his debut in his place.
Following scans and expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team decided to rule Gaikwad out of the remainder of the tour. As a replacement, Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named in the squad, and he will be reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further management of Gaikwad’s injury.
The first Test of the two-match series is scheduled to commence on Boxing Day at Centurion, with the second Test starting on January 3 in Cape Town.
BCCI’s official statement read, “He [Gaikwad] remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team.” Captain KL Rahul had earlier mentioned at the toss of the third ODI that Gaikwad was benched due to “some damage to his finger,” and the opener had not fully recovered from the blow sustained in the second ODI.
In addition to Gaikwad, fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the four-day match against South Africa A due to a hamstring injury. The Selection Committee has made adjustments to India A’s squad, with Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan, and Rinku Singh being added, while Kuldeep Yadav has been released from the squad.
The updated India A squad for the four-day match against SA A includes Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Manav Suthar, and Rinku Singh.
