Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was ruled out of the Twenty20 series against South Africa after suffering a blow on his right hand while batting in the nets. The 27-year-old tweaker joined KL Rahul, who endured a last-minute groin injury that paved the way for Rishabh Pant to take charge in the five-game assignment. (Follow IND vs SA 1st T20I Live)
Kuldeep on Thursday said that he is ‘disappointed’ to miss out on the series but wished his teammates luck ahead of the first T20I in Delhi. “Disappointed to miss out on the SA series due to an injury, but I am sure the boys will give their best on the pitch, and I am backing them all the way. Looking forward to coming back stronger,” Kuldeep said on the KOO app.
Rahul also reacted to the injury, saying he is gutted and it’s hard to accept. The star opener also said that he was looking forward to guiding India for the first time at home.
“Hard to accept but I begin another challenge today. Gutted not to be leading the side for the first time at home, but the boys have all my support from the sidelines. Heartfelt thanks to all for your support. Wishing Rishabh and the boys all the luck for the series. See you soon,” he tweeted.
India are set to take on South Africa in the first T20I match of the five-match home series at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series.
India are chasing history during the bilateral series – should they win the opening match, they will achieve an all-time record of winning 13 consecutive T20Is. The team is also preparing for the ICC T20 World Cup later in Australia this year.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rested from the series. After delivering great performances in IPL 2022, pacers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik got their maiden Team India call-up for the series.
-With ANI Inputs
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