Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad will miss the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa due to an injury to his right ring finger sustained while fielding in the second ODI in Gqeberha. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed this development on Saturday, stating that Gaikwad underwent scans and, following expert consultation, has been ruled out for the remainder of the tour. Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named as Gaikwad’s replacement in the squad.
The first Test of the series is scheduled to start on Boxing Day at Centurion, with the second Test set to begin on January 3 in Cape Town.
“He will be reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further management of his injury. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement,” stated the BCCI.
Gaikwad’s absence was noticeable in the third and final ODI against South Africa, where captain KL Rahul revealed at the toss that the opener was benched due to a finger injury. Rajat Patidar took Gaikwad’s place in the playing XI, making his ODI debut.
(He) hasn’t fully recovered: BCCI’s official statement said about Gaikwad absence from the South Africa Test series
The BCCI had earlier mentioned, “(He) hasn’t fully recovered from the blow he sustained to his ring finger while fielding in the second ODI. He remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team.”
In a separate development, fast bowler Harshit Rana will miss the four-day match against South Africa A starting on December 26 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni due to a hamstring injury. The Selection Committee has made changes to India A’s squad, adding Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan, and Rinku Singh, while releasing Kuldeep Yadav 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.
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