Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the Test series against South Africa due to a finger injury.
Gaikwad was named in the original 16-man Test squad for the South Africa series. However, he sustained an injury to his finger in the second ODI against the same opponents in Gukebela on December 19 and is currently sidelined.
Gaikwad was part of the team in all three formats of the South African tour. After scoring his first international century in a successful five-match T20I series against Australia at home, the young right-hander would have been expected to continue his form and solidify his place in the T20I team at the very least.
However, he did not start in the T20Is as Shubman Gill was preferred over him, but in the two ODIs he played, he was disappointing as he failed to reach double figures in both.
Things went from bad to worse for Gaikwad, as he was ruled out of the Test series completely and the injury to his finger was so severe that he had to be sidelined for some time. India is yet to name a replacement in the team.
Gaikwad was also part of the Indian Test team that played against West Indies in the Caribbean earlier this year, but did not play in the match. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who also received his first Test call-up during the tour, was selected in the starting XI over Gaikwad and responded by scoring a huge century on his debut.
Rohit Sharma, who will lead the Indian team for the first time since the 2023 World Cup, is likely to join Jaiswal again for the South Africa Test series.
The first test will begin on December 26th in Centurion and the second test will take place in Cape Town from January 3rd.
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