BREAKING: India name replacement for KL Rahul for WTC final; announce standby players

KL Rahul sustained an injury on his right thigh while fielding against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday (May 1). The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper couldn’t take the field in the first innings after the injury and came to bat at No. 11 during the second innings.

The BCCI intervened immediately and decided to handle KL Rahul’s case themselves. After the scans, for which KL Rahul moved to Mumbai, the injury was deemed to be severe enough to keep Rahul out of the action for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final, scheduled to be played from June 7-11 at The Oval, just after the conclusion of the IPL.

KL Rahul will undergo surgery on his right thigh and then start his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to regain match fitness. Since Rahul will be part of the World Cup later in the year, the BCCI would expect him to recover in time for the mega event.

Meanwhile, Jaydev Unadkat is also nursing a left shoulder injury at the NCA, and his participation in the WTC final is still unknown. Umesh Yadav also suffered a minor hamstring injury, and the medical team is also monitoring his progress.

BCCI names the replacement player for KL Rahul in the WTC final squad

The BCCI has announced Ishan Kishan as the replacement player for KL Rahul in the World Test Championship squad. Ishan Kishan was also part of the Indian team in this year’s Border Gavaskar Trophy but didn’t play any game in the series.

Ishan Kishan is yet to make a debut for India in the Test matches. The southpaw is expected to act as a backup wicketkeeper option for KS Bharat, who might keep for India in the final game against Australia.

The BCCI has also named three standby players who will travel with the team on the trip to London. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav are kept on the reserve list for the clash.

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KL Rahul’s injury is a massive blow for India, as he was one of the better batters during their England tour in 2021. In his absence, Shubman Gill is expected to open the innings along with the captain Rohit Sharma.

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