Ruturaj Gaikwad gets ruled out of upcoming India vs. South Africa Test series, check out who is his replacement

India’s star cricketer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against South Africa, which is slated to take place on December 26. Notably, the first game will start on Boxing Day at Centurion, while the second Test is slated to take place on January 3 at Cape Town. The side will be led by regular skipper Rohit Sharma.

The Indian Cricket Board reveals that Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to return to India after suffering injuries in the second ODI against South Africa on December 19. Notably, the CSK opener had missed the third ODI as well at Boland Park in Paarl on December 21. However, the opening batter went through multiple scans after sustaining injuries while fielding against the Proteas in the second game.

“Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. He underwent scans, and following an expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team has ruled him out of the remainder of the tour,” Indian Cricket Board Secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.

Ruturaj Gaikwad will be reporting to the NCA for further management of his injury: Indian Cricket Board

The Pune-born cricketer will be at the NCA for his rehabilitation to mark his comeback soon ahead of the Afghanistan series slated to come on January 11. Meanwhile, star cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named as his replacement.

“He will be reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further management of his injury. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement. He remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Indian Cricket Board has made multiple changes to India’s squad against South Africa after a few players were ruled out or took a break ahead of the series.

India A’s updated squad for the four-day match against SA A: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Manav Suthar and Rinku Singh.