India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been officially ruled out of the three-match Test series against South Africa that begins from December 26 onwards in Centurion. Gaikwad, who had fractured his finger during the second ODI match against South Africa, will hence head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. BCCI meanwhile named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. He underwent scans, and following an expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team has ruled him out of the remainder of the tour,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a statement.
“He will be reporting to the NCA for further management of his injury. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement,” the statement added.
Gaikwad featured in the opening two ODI matches of the three-game series, which India won 2-1. However, upon having incurred an injury in his finger while fielding in the second match, he was rested for the final tie. He was also a member of the Indian squad for the Test series.
BCCI also made wholesome changes to the India A squad. The statement added that Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the four-day India A tour match against South Africa A in Benoni from December 26 owing to a hamstring injury.
The Selection Committee meanwhile added middle-order batter Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan and Rinku Singh to the India A squad while Kuldeep Yadav has been released.
India A’s updated squad for four-day match against SA A: 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, Rinku Singh
