INDvSA T20I: Fans at Barabati Stadium to miss action of KL Rahul; here’s why

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Cricket followers will miss the action of Team India Captain KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack during India’s T20I series against South Africa, beginning on June 9.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today stated, “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.”

Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant will lead India in Rahul’s absence while Hardik Pandya has been named the vice-captain for the home series against South Africa.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series against South Africa,” the BCCI added.

However, the selection committee has not named a replacement for Rahul and Kuldeep.

Both the cricketers will now report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where the medical team will assess them further and decide on the future course of treatment.

India’s T20I squad: Rishabh Pant (Captain)(wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik

The first game of the T20I series will be played in Delhi on June 9. The rest of the four games will be played at Cuttack, Vishakhapatnam, Rajkot, and Bangalore on June 12, June 14, June 17, and June 19 respectively.