Ishan Kishan named KL Rahul’s replacement for WTC Final
Mumbai Indians opener Ishan Kishan has been named as the replacement for KL Rahul in next month’s World Test Championship against Australia at The Oval. Rahul, who recently got injured is set to undergo surgery followed by rehab in India.
Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI stated, ” KL Rahul suffered an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding during Match 43rd of TATA IPL 2023 between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 1st May. 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.”
Ishan Kishan, who is still uncapped in Test cricket has played 14 ODIs and 27 T20Is so far. Kishan has played 48 first-class matches so far for 2985 runs at an average of 38.76 with six hundreds, and in the recent Ranji Trophy season he played just two games and scored 180 runs while averaging 45. He is the second wicketkeeper besides KS Bharat in Team India’s WTC squad.
In addition to KL Rahul, pace bowlers Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat are also under the scanner for injuries but find themselves still in the WTC squad for now.
“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,” said the BCCI in a media release.
“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,” BCCI further added.
Additionally, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, and Suryakumar Yadav have been named as the standby players for the WTC final.
Revised Team India squad for WTC Final: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk)
Standby Players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav