India name KL Rahul’s replacement for WTC final

India have named the replacement for the injured KL Rahul in their ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final squad.

They have named the wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as the replacement for the injured Rahul for the marquee clash against Australia at the Oval in June.

Rahul had suffered an injury while fielding during the Indian Premier League match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday.

The batter will undergo surgery on his thigh, which had ruled him out for the Final of the high-octane clash.

Jaydev Unadkat, who suffered a left shoulder injury in the nets during the IPL, is in rehabilitation, undergoing strength and rehab sessions to recover from his injury. However, the decision on whether he will be able to participate in the upcoming WTC final is yet to be made.

Umesh Yadav too also had a minor left hamstring injury during the IPL and is closely monitored by the BCCI Medical Team.

India have also named three standby players for the big finale. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who can be the backup opener in the squad to Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav, the backup middle-order batter take two of those spots.

Mukesh Kumar, who has previously been with the Test squad, but is yet to make his debut for India, fills the third spot as backup seamer.

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, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).

Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav. (ICC)