India’s in-form opening batsman Kannaur Lokesh Rahul has been ruled out of the remaining two tests against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury and has been replaced by Gautam Gambhir in the squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday.
“BCCI medical team has confirmed that team India opener, KL Rahul has an injury in his right hamstring and he is ruled out for the remainder of the Paytm Test series against New Zealand. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Gautam Gambhir as Rahul’s replacement for the next two Test matches,” BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke said in a release.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma will also miss the second test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata after failing to recover from the mosquito-borne viral disease Chikungunya, which also forced him to sit out of the Kanpur opener.
Uncapped Haryana offspinner Jayant Yadav will replace Sharma for the second test of the series, which India lead 1-0.
Right-hander Rahul, 24, scored two hundreds and a fifty in four innings against the West Indies in tests and a Twenty20 international recently.
He made 32 and 38 in Kanpur and injured his right hamstring while running between the wickets.
Gambhir, 34, has played 56 tests for India, the last of them in England over two years ago.
The left-handed opener, who has score nine test hundreds, was recalled to the Indian squad on the back of his strong form in domestic tournaments. He was impressive in the recent Duleep Trophy, where he scored four back-to-back half-centuries including two 90 plus scores.
(With inputs from Reuters and PTI)
(Feature image source: Reuters)