SA VS IND TEST SERIES: Uttarakhand-born batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran will replace Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad in the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, after the CSK batter suffered an injury that has ruled him out of the series. Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger during the second ODI against South Africa on December 19 in Port Elizabeth, and after undergoing scans, it has been confirmed that he will be transferred to NCA for further treatment.
The official statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the replacement.
“Mr Ruturaj Gaikwad injured his right ring finger while fielding in the second One-Day International against South Africa in Gqeberha.” He underwent scans, and the BCCI Medical Team has ruled him out of the rest of the tour after consulting with experts. He will be reporting to the NCA for further injury management. “His replacement has been named by the Men’s Selection Committee as Abhimanyu Easwaran,” said the BCCI.
Abhimanyu Easwaran is a technically sound and stroke player who has shown enormous potential in his first-class career and also had a really impressive run in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he amassed 272 runs in merely 4 innings, at a blistering strike rate of 91.28 and an ever-astonishing average of 90.67 while playing for Bengal. In 88 first-class matches, Easwaran has scored 6567 runs at an average of 47.24.
With the addition of Abhimanyu Easwaran and the departure of Ruturaj Gaikwad, the current lineup for the two-match Test series is as follows:
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Shubman Gill
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- Abhimanyu Easwaran
- Ishan Kishan (wk)
- KL Rahul (wk)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Shardul Thakur
- Mohammad Siraj
- Mukesh Kumar
- Jasprit Bumrah (VC)
- Prasidh Krishna
- Akash Deep
India and South Africa begin the test series on the Boxing Day (December 26), at the SuperSport Park, Centurion.