‘Yeh tha tumhara replacement’ – Fans react as Ishan Kishan replaces injured KL Rahul in Indian squad for Test Championship final

Wicketkeeper batter, Ishan Kishan has been named as the replacement of KL Rahul in the Indian squad for the Test Championship final against Australia. Meanwhile, Surykumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mukesh Kumar have been named as the standby players Notably, Rahul suffered a hamstring injury while fielding for Lucknow Super Giants during a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League. After that, he was ruled out from the rest of the IPL season and the Indian squad for the Test Championship final.

He has been replaced by Krunal Pandya as the skipper of LSG for the rest of the season and now the Indian Cricket Board replaced him with Ishan Kishan in the Indian team. In a statement, the board said that, Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest and will rehabilitate at the National Cricket Academy for the same. The Board also added that there is uncertainty over the availability of the two key pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav for the final against Australia.

“After consultations with specialists, it has been decided that Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy for the same. He is ruled out of the upcoming Test Championship final against Australia. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishan Kishan as KL Rahul’s replacement,” the Indian Cricket Board said in a release.

“Jaydev 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 National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru undergoing strength and rehab sessions for his shoulder. A decision on his participation in the Test Championship final will be taken at a later stage.

“Umesh Yadav sustained a minor left hamstring injury during Match 36 of IPL 2023 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 26 April. The fast bowler is currently under the care of the KKR Medical Team and has started low-intensity bowling as part of his rehab process. The Indian Cricket Board Medical Team is in regular touch with KKR Medical Team and is closely monitoring Umesh’s progress,” the release by the Board said.

India to play Test Championship final for the second time

India will take on take on Australia for the second edition of the Test Championship final that is scheduled to be held from June 7th to 11th at the Ovals in England. The runners-up of the previous edition will be looking to clinch the Test mace in their second attempt.

Indian squad for Test Championship 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.

Cricket fans pic.twitter.com/0MHhWR4HTj

— djay (@djaywalebabu) May 8, 2023

https://twitter.com/MisterBeeTee/status/1655539000348909568

https://twitter.com/ianooop/status/1655540430489153536

Saha be like : pic.twitter.com/PmXhnM2uVe

— AYAN FAN ACCOUNT (@_Beingpractical) May 8, 2023

Do they give priority to Ranji or IPL? Or good form, bad form, what is it? What is the selection criteria for the test team ?What pattern do they follow? Will they take the responsibility if we lose WTC final, or we'll have to be happy with the bilateral trophies like everytime?

— Somnath (@CaffeinatedLad) May 8, 2023

BCCI selection committee – pic.twitter.com/XroFTBkPmG

— CA Tushar Gajpalla (@tushargajpalla) May 8, 2023

https://twitter.com/Demigodprabhas1/status/1655539306243686401

pic.twitter.com/KGmuOXkpZJ

— Daren  (@darenface) May 8, 2023

Jis batsman ko boundary aur maximum ke alawa kuchh nahi aata ho jo strike rotate nahi kar sakta ho wo test squad me Bhai Aisa raha to wtc final jeetne se rahe ham

— Monu kumar yadav (@yadavmonu62) May 8, 2023