Cricket News

Star India player travel back home and is likely to miss first Test against South Africa

The Indian team land into huge trouble just four days prior to the much awaited two-match Test series between South Africa and India. The boxing day Test match is set to played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Firstly, the star India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was unable to recover from his finger injury.

Following the injury Gaikwad has been excluded from the upcoming match. Also he was subsequently released from the squad. Apart from that now, according to a report former India captain Virat Kohli had to skip the ongoing three-day intra-squad game in Pretoria and urgently had to return home due to an emergency. However, the report did not specify the details of the emergency.

Moreover, it has been informed by sources from the Indian Cricket Board (ICB) that Virat Kohli will return in time for the opening game scheduled for December 26. The report on Cricbuzz also specified that the 35 year old batter had left for Mumbai three days ago with the permission from the team management to skip the intra-squad match. His anticipated return to the team is on Friday, December 22.

 

Ruturaj has not fully recovered from injury: ICB statement

Meanwhile, Gaikwad suffered a finger injury in the second ODI match against South Africa earlier this week. This led to his exclusion from the subsequent third match. In his absence, Rajat Patidar received his debut cap. With the level of injury taking time to heal, it is expected that he will be released from the squad.

“(He) hasn’t fully recovered from the blow he sustained to his ring finger while fielding in the second ODI. He remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team,” the ICB statement said.

India already faced an earlier setback with the loss of Mohammed Shami to an ankle injury. Despite being included in the squad, he did not travel with the contingent. The reason behind it was that he was kept under the observation of the ICB’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Additionally, Ishan Kishan, who took on the wicketkeeping role in India’s Test series in West Indies, will not be part of the contest against South Africa.