India’s Ishan Kishan will miss the upcoming Test series against South Africa after withdrawing due to personal reasons. Ishan, earlier set to play a key role for India against South Africa, made his Test debut during the West Indies tour in July. However, he will now have to wait until the England series in February to make his Test return. As replacement, KS Bharat has been handed a reprieve as he returns to the side having missed the West Indies series.

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Ishan withdraws from Test squad

On Sunday (Dec 17), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on its social media handle that Ishan won’t be available for the red-ball series. The BCCI did not mention the reason for Ishan’s withdrawal from the squad, but it is understood he is not injured and took the decision for a personal reason. Bharat will have another turn to impress the selectors as he will now travel to South Africa to replace the Mumbai Indians batter.

“Mr Ishan Kishan has requested the BCCI to be released from the upcoming Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons. The wicket-keeper has subsequently been withdrawn from the Test squad,” a statement on the BCCI website read.

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“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Mr KS Bharat as a replacement,” the statement added.

Ishan’s withdrawal from the squad also means KL Rahul will be the frontrunner to keep wickets during the Test series. Rahul on Saturday had quoted that he is ready to keep the wickets in the Test format and bat in the middle-order. While Bharat’s experience will be a key factor, Rahul will be expected to be the man with the gloves during the two-match Test series which starts on Boxing Day (26th December).

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk).

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