Rahul ruled out: Potential replacements in Indian setup for WTC23 final
Rahul suffered an injury while fielding during the Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, 1 May. He will now undergo surgery on his thigh which has ruled him out of the marquee clash against Australia at The Oval, starting 7 June.
Rahul would have been a crucial member of the squad due to his experience playing in England, as well as due to his versatility. Rahul would have potentially covered three roles in the Indian setup – opening batter, middle-order batter and as wicketkeeper-batter.
Replacing a player with Rahul's experience will be a tough ask for the Indian team management, but they have a few options at their disposal who they could call upon. We take a look at them:
Ishan Kishan was a part of the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia but served as the backup keeper, with KS Bharat getting the nod.
Kishan though has plenty of experience in international cricket and the IPL and can bat anywhere in the order. Kishan has featured in 41 international matches for India in the shorter format but boasts of a decent record in First-class cricket, playing 48 matches and scoring 2985 runs at 38.76.
He could well be the frontrunner for a call-up in the India squad due to his past experience and flexibility.
#FutureStars Ishan Kishan, India
Sarfaraz Khan has been banging at the doors of selectors, arguably being the most impressive performer in the Indian domestic circuit.
Sarfaraz bats in the middle-order for Mumbai and has impressed everyone with his attacking brand of cricket. In 37 First-class games, he has scored 3505 runs at an impressive 79.65.
Despite the favourable numbers, Sarfaraz is yet to receive an international call-up and it remains to be seen whether the Indian team management will decide to blood him in during such a high-stakes game.
The rising youngster has been making waves on the India's domestic circuit and has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL this season.
Jaiswal has long been touted as India's future opener after making his name at the 2020 ICC Men's U19 World Cup in South Africa and his game has only continued to improve.
The 21-year-old has featured in 15 First-Class games and has 1845 runs at a staggering average of 80.21, with 9 centuries to his name. In IPL 2023, Jaiswal has scored 442 runs in 10 games so far, including a brilliant ton against Mumbai Indians.
As with Sarfaraz, the management might well believe that the World Test Championship Final could be too big of an occasion to hand young Jaiswal his maiden international call-up.
The veteran is already in the squad for the clash against Australia and will almost certainly be a lock-in selection with Rahul's untimely injury.
The general consensus was that it would well come down to a clash between Rahul and Rahane for a place in the India XI, come 7 June and the former vice-captain is now likely to get the nod at his preferred No.5 position in the batting order.
India will likely name a replacement for the injured Rahul in the squad, but Rahane, with 82 Tests under his belt is now almost a certainty once the team sheets come out.