KL Rahul out, Ishan Kishan in for WTC final

Mumbai: KL Rahul has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia.

Ishan Kishan has been named in place of Rahul by BCCI’s All-India Senior Selection Committee.

“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. He is ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia,” BCCI said in a statement.

Rahul suffered an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding during Match 43rd of TATA IPL 2023 between Lucknow SuperGiants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1.

BCCI said left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder.

Unadkat has sustained a left shoulder injury by tripping over the side rope while bowling in the nets, and a specialist consultation has been sought, the premier cricket body said.

A decision on his participation in the WTC final will be taken at a later stage, BCCI said.

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, BCCI said.

The BCCI Medical Team is in regular touch with KKR Medical Team and is closely monitoring Umesh’s progress, it said.

India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).

Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav. UNI