KL Rahul sustained a muscle strain in his left thigh which will force him to sit out the two-match Test series against the Kiwis.
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Opening batter KL Rahul has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series to be played between India and New Zealand after he sustained a muscle strain on his left thigh. Suryakumar Yadav has been named his replacement for the matches. With Rohit Sharma out for the Test series, the team will likely start Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal as openers. Following a 3-0 victory in the T20I series, the home team will be quite confident going into the Test series against the Kiwis. Ajinkya Rahane will be the skipper for the first Test match and Virat Kohli will lead the team in the second Test after rejoining.
“He will now undergo rehabilitation at NCA in preparation for the series against South Africa scheduled next month. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr. Suryakumar Yadav as KL Rahul’s replacement. The first Test between India and New Zealand begins on 25th November 2021 in Kanpur,” BCCI statement read regarding Rahul’s injury and replacement.
NEWS – Suryakumar Yadav replaces KL Rahul in India’s Test squad.
KL Rahul has sustained a muscle strain on his left thigh and has been ruled out of the upcoming 2-match Paytm Test series against New Zealand.
More details here –https://t.co/ChXVhBSb6H #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/uZp21Ybajx
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 23, 2021
The upcoming New Zealand Test series will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 cycle. This year, in June, the two teams met in the WTC Final (2019-2021), with the Kiwis claiming the title thanks to an eight-wicket victory.
India’s Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Team India defeated New Zealand by 73 runs in the final T20I of the three-match series between the nations, to complete a series clean sweep. The hosts had recorded comprehensive wins in the previous two encounters of the series as well, making it a fantastic start to proceedings for Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma. While Dravid kicked off his tenure as the Team India head coach from the T20I series against New Zealand.
Rohit’s journey as the captain in T20I cricket similarly started from the series. Martin Guptill was the sole performer for New Zealand, accumulating 51 runs from 36 deliveries in an innings comprising four boundaries and sixes apiece. Guptill accumulated the same at a strike rate of 141.67. None of the other batsmen managed to even cross 20 runs. Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers for India, accounting for three dismissals. Harshal Patel chipped in with two wickets.
Rohit Sharma smashed a 31-ball 56 to help the team post a total of 184 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Rohit’s knock comprised of five boundaries and three sixes with the same accumulated at a strike rate of 180.65.
Ishan Kishan also seemed impressive during his 21-ball 29 which included six fours. Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer provided valuable support, chipping in with a 20-ball 25 and 15-ball 20 respectively. However, Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar were the players who ensured the perfect finish to the proceedings. The former accumulated 18 runs from 11 deliveries, with the latter smashing 21 off 8 balls which included two boundaries and a six.
