India named Ishan Kishan as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval in June.
Rahul, the captain of Lucknow Super Giants, suffered a thigh injury while fielding during the Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday.
He had been sidelined for the rest of the IPL and the upcoming mega clash for Test supremacy.
Rahul’s replacement Kishan is uncapped in red-ball format but has featured in 14 ODIs and 27 T20Is for India.
The inclusion of the left-hander gives India an extra wicket-keeping option apart from KS Bharat, who only made his debut earlier this year against Australia in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
Rahul’s injury is not the only concern for India ahead of the WTC final since pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav are also being closely monitored by the Indian medical staff.
The left-arm pacer Unadkat sustained a left shoulder injury in the nets during the IPL and is currently undergoing strength and rehab sessions.
The decision on his availability for the WTC23 final will be taken later, according to a BCCI statement.
Similarly, Yadav also suffered a minor left hamstring injury while playing for KKR in the IPL and is currently being monitored by the medical team.
India have also named three reserve players for the final with Ruturaj Gaikwad, the backup opener to Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav, the middle-order batter, taking up two of those spots.
Mukesh Kumar, who has previously been with the Test squad, but is yet to make his debut for India, filled the third spot as a standby seamer.