- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Hard-hitting wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan has been picked as the replacement for KL Rahul for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia set to be held at The Oval next month after the ace batter got ruled out due to an injury sustained in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.
The 31-year-old, who was captaining Lucknow Super Giants, suffered an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding in a match in Lucknow on May 1.
“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,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a release, NDTV Sports reported.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s replacement.”
The 24-year-old Kishan, who is yet to play in a Test, will join KS Bharat, who has been picked in the side as the No.1 wicket-keeper.
The BCCI has also added three standby players in Rituraj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav since there are other injury concerns. According to the board, there is uncertainty over the availability of two fast bowlers — Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav.
“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,” the BCCI release said, the report added.
“Umesh Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during Match 36 of 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,” it added.
India will be playing their second successive WTC final between June 7 and 11. They reached the final in the 2019-21 edition but lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in the final at Southampton.
India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan (wicket keeper).
Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.
