Indian opening batter KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav have been ruled out of the T20 International series against South Africa. Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, who was the vice-captain will lead the Indian team in the series.
KL Rahul was named as the captain of the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma. However, he suffered a groin injury and will miss the T20I series. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav got hit on his right hand while batting in the nets on Tuesday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday took to Twitter to announce the news. They wrote, “Team India Captain KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening.”
Team India Captain KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening.@Paytm #INDvSA
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 8, 2022
KL Rahul and Kuldeep recently played in the Indian Premier League. The duo performed well for their respective teams. KL Rahul led the Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs in their maiden Indian Premier League season. While Kuldeep Yadav finished the season as the leading wicket-taker for the Delhi Capitals.
The BCCI has not named replacements for KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav. The Indian team will host South Africa for five T20Is. The first T20I will take place on June 9 in the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi.
Hardik Pandya to be Rishabh Pant’s deputy for the SA T20I series
Hardik Pandya will be the vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad for the South Africa series. The all-rounder, recently, captained the Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title in their maiden season. He led the team from the front, finishing the season as their leading run-scorer.
Hardik is making a comeback to the Indian limited-overs team. He last played in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021. The right-handed batter’s performance in the Indian Premier League earned him a comeback call. In fifteen matches, he scored 487 runs at an average of 44.27 and at a strike rate of 131.26. He also picked eight wickets in the tournament.
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