Dinesh Karthik replaces Wriddhiman Saha in India squad to face Afghanistan
Saturday 2 June 2018 13:21, UK
Dinesh Karthik has been called into India's squad for their one-off Test against Afghanistan with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha having been ruled out.
Saha suffered a thumb injury when he was struck by a bouncer while playing in the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
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The injury forced him to miss the final, which his side went on to lose to the Chennai Super Kings.
Saha is expected to be fit to face England when India get their five-Test series underway at Edgbaston on August 1.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) spokesman Amitabh Choudhary said: "He was under observation by the medical staff and the BCCI management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series.
"Saha's recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks."
Karthik played the last of his 23 Tests back in 2010 against Bangladesh and has scored exactly 1,000 Test runs across 37 innings.
India will be captained by Ajinkya Rahane in Bangalore and he leads a squad also lacking regular skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
