WTC Final: KL Rahul suffered a thigh injury and is out of the Indian squad, as he will undergo surgery. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan would replace him in the Test squad against Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as a replacement for KL Rahul for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, who suffered a right upper thigh injury during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match recently. Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper, had been ruled out of the entire IPL and the WTC final against Australia after he picked up the injury while fielding during an IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The WTC final will occur between June 7-11 at The Oval in London. The BCCI also said in a statement on Monday that a decision on the WTC final participation of left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat, who suffered a shoulder injury to his bowling arm while practising for LSG ahead of the RCB game, will be taken at a later stage.
"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul's replacement [for the WTC final]. KL Rahul injured his right upper thigh while fielding during Match 43rd of IPL 2023 between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1," said BCCI secretary Jay Shah. Shah said Rahul would undergo surgery "at the earliest", which will be followed by a "rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the same". "After consultations with specialists, it has been decided that Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest. He is ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against Australia," added BCCI.
"Jaydev Unadkat sustained a left shoulder injury by tripping over the side rope while bowling in the [LSG] 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 later," said the BCCI statement.
The BCCI said Umesh Yadav, after sustaining a minor left hamstring injury during the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders game on April 26, had started "low-intensity" training. "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," the statement added.
India updated 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, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat and Ishan Kishan (wk).
Stand by: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav.
(With inputs from PTI)