Ishan Kishan to replace KL Rahul for World Test Championship final vs Australia

Ishan Kishan has been named as a replacement for KL Rahul for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia starting at the Oval on June 7.

Rahul suffered an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding during the IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1.

BCCI announced on Monday that, after consultations with specialists, it has been decided that Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the same.

Meanwhile, a decision on Jaydev Unadkat’s participation in the WTC final will be taken at a later stage.

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 NCA in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder.

The BCCI medical team is also regularly in touch with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management, closely monitoring pacer Umesh Yadav’s progress.

Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during an IPL game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and KKR on April 26. The fast bowler has started low-intensity bowling as part of his rehab process.

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.