Ind vs SA: Rahul, Kuldeep ruled out of T20I series due to injury

NEW DELHI: Batter KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav have been ruled out of the five-match T20I series against South Africa at home due to injury. 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.

As per a statement from BCCI, Rahul will miss out due to a right groin injury while Yadav will miss out on the series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening. Both the cricketers will now report to the NCA where the medical team will assess them further and decide on the future course of treatment.

India is set to take on South Africa in the first T20I match of the five-match home series at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Team 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. Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik both have been exceptional for their IPL franchises this year. The former has been one of Punjab Kings' leading pacers, specially picking wickets at regular intervals in the death overs. In 36 IPL matches, Arshdeep has picked up 40 wickets at an economy rate of 8.42 with one five-wicket haul to his name. Jammu and Kashmir's Umran has breathed fire, clocking 150 kmph consistently.

Also, a fully-fit Hardik Pandya makes his return back to the squad. The talented all-rounder enjoyed an excellent season with bat, scoring 487 runs in 15 matches. His spell of 3/17 in the IPL final was a match-winning performance.

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

South Africa's squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen.

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