BCCI adds 4 IPL stars for Proteas tour; names replacement for injured Ruturaj Gaikwad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially announced on Saturday (December 23) that opener Ruturaj Gaikwad will not be participating in the Test series against South Africa. Gaikwad, who recently played in the South Africa ODI series, was initially included in the upcoming two Tests against the Proteas.

However, due to an injury to his right finger sustained during the second ODI, he was absent from the third ODI as well. Consequently, Gaikwad has been omitted from the Test squad. In light of this, the BCCI has named Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement in the primary squad.

Easwaran is a top-order batter and has been knocking on the doors of the Indian team for several years. The batter has been a permanent fixture in the A tours for several years and has scored 6567 runs from 88 First Class matches at an average of 47.24. 

Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana out of India A squad

The Indian Board has also implemented alterations to the India A squad for the upcoming third four-day match against South Africa A. BCCI confirmed that fast bowler Harshit Rana will be unavailable for the clash due to a hamstring injury. Additionally, Kuldeep Yadav has been released. To fill these vacancies, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan, and Rinku Singh have been included in the A squad.

"Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the four-day match against South Africa A starting on 26th December at Willowmoore Park in Benoni owing to a hamstring injury. The Selection Committee has added Mr Rajat Patidar, Mr Sarfaraz Khan, Mr Avesh Khan and Mr Rinku Singh to India A’s squad while Mr Kuldeep Yadav has been released from the squad," the BCCI release read.

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