Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out of Test series against South Africa due to injury

The first Test of the two-match series between India and South Africa will begin on Boxing Day at the Centurion, with the second Test set to begin on 3 January in Capetown.

Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha.

He underwent scans, and following an expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team ruled him out of the remainder of the tour. Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named as Gaikwad's replacement in the squad.

"He will be reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further management of his injury. The Men's Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement," a statement from BCCI read.

Due to a finger injury, the opener was unable to participate in the third and final ODI against the Proteas on Thursday. At the toss, captain KL Rahul reported that Gaikwad was benched due to "some damage to his finger" and that Rajat Patidar took his place in the playing XI, making his debut in the ODI.

"(He) hasn't fully recovered from the blow he sustained to his ring finger while fielding in the second ODI. He remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team," the BCCI stated before the start of the third and final ODI on Thursday.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the four-day match against South Africa A starting on December 26 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni owing to a hamstring injury.

The Selection Committee has added Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan and Rinku Singh to India A's squad while Kuldeep Yadav has been released from the squad.

India A's updated squad for four-day match against SA A: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Manav Suthar and Rinku Singh. (ANI)