India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. He will be replaced by KS Bharat, who has been named as the second wicketkeeper in the squad along with KL Rahul.
Kishan, who made his Test debut in the home series against Australia earlier this year, was expected to be the first-choice keeper for the South Africa tour. However, he sustained a hamstring injury during the third T20I against South Africa in Mumbai on December 15, 2023, and did not take the field in the second innings. He was also ruled out of the three-match ODI series, which India won 2-1.
Bharat, who has played 77 first-class matches and scored 4142 runs at an average of 37.48, will join the Test squad as a replacement for Kishan. Bharat has also taken 227 catches and 20 stumpings behind the stumps in his first-class career. He was recently part of the India A squad that toured South Africa and played in both the four-day matches against South Africa A. He scored 77 runs in four innings and took nine catches and two stumpings.
Bharat will be hoping to get his maiden Test cap in the two-match series, which starts from December 26, 2023, in Centurion. The second Test will be played in Cape Town from January 3, 2024. India are the current holders of the Freedom Trophy, having won the last Test series in South Africa 2-1 in 2021.
The Test series will be followed by three T20Is, which will be played in Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth from January 14 to 18, 2024.
India’s squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (WK), KL Rahul (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami (depending on fitness), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.
