IND vs SA Test Series: Abhimanyu Easwaran is set to step in for Ruturaj Gaikwad in India's squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, as confirmed by the BCCI on Saturday.

Gaikwad, who sustained a right ring finger injury during the second ODI at Port Elizabeth on December 19 has been ruled out of the Tests after undergoing scans and expert consultation. He will now head to the NCA for injury management.

“Mr Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. He underwent scans, and following an expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team has ruled him out of the remainder of the tour. He will be reporting to the NCA for further management of his injury. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement,” the official statement by BCCI confirmed.

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Currently part of the India A side touring South Africa, Easwaran has scored vital runs in the intra-squad practice match. Easwaran boasts an impressive record in the domestic circuit, amassing 6567 runs in 88 First-Class matches at an average of 47.24, including 22 centuries.

In addition, seamer Harshit Rana will miss the four-day game against South Africa A in Benoni starting on December 26 due to a hamstring injury.

The selectors have also withdrawn Kuldeep Yadav from that squad. To bolster the A squad, Sarfaraz Khan, Rinku Singh, Rajat Patidar, and Avesh Khan have been included as replacements.

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India’s Updated Test Squad Against South Africa:

 

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep

 

India A’s Updated Squad For Four-day Match Against SA A:

 

Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Manav Suthar, Rinku Singh