Ishan Kishan named KL Rahul's replacement for WTC final

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed KL Rahul’s omission from the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. Ishan Kishan has been named as his replacement. 

Rahul suffered the injury during the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday (May 1) and did not take part in the game again, until he came out to bat at No. 11, managing to face just three deliveries as his side lost by 18 runs.

On Friday (May 5), Rahul himself confirmed that he will undergo surgery on his thigh and will begin his rehabilitation in the coming weeks.

"After careful consideration and consultation with the medical team, it's been concluded that I'll be undergoing a surgery on my thigh shortly. My focus will be on my rehabilitation and recovery in the coming weeks. It's a tough call to make, but I know it's the right one to ensure a full recovery," Rahul said in a post on social media. 

Rahul was dropped from the Test side during the Australia series at home after a string of low scores. However, while his inclusion in the WTC final raised many eyebrows, one thought he could keep wickets and slot into the middle-order. 

Kishan, his replacement, is yet to play Test cricket for India. A left-handed wicket-keeping batter, Kishan played only two games in the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy seasons, making scores of 13, 13, 132 and 22. All those knocks came at a strike-rate in excess of 60. 

Kishan was the most high-profile like-for-like replacement option available for the Indian team. Meanwhile, the team has another wicket-keeping batter option in KS Bharat. 

Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav are the other players nursing injuries from India’s current WTC squad. As BCCI mentioned in the press release, a decision on their participation will be taken at a later stage. 

The WTC final will be played between India and Australia at the Oval in London, from June 7 to 11.

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

Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav