Man of the match in the third Test, Shikhar Dhawan, was ruled out of the fourth Test against Australia, scheduled to be played in New Delhi between March 22-26, after he sustained a fracture in the left hand.
Dhawan, who hit a record breaking 187 in his maiden Test innings in Mohali, will be out of action for six weeks, announced a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) statement late Tuesday.
BCCI’s All India Senior Selection Committee had replaced Dhawan with Gautam Gambhir and brought in Suresh Raina to the squad for the fourth Test. However, Gambhir was diagnosed with jaundice after undergoing a blood test earlier Tuesday. He will not take part in the fourth match.
“The official announcement of the team was delayed as the board was waiting for the copy of the report,” said the BCCI statement.
Ajinkya Rahane is most likely to replace Dhawan as an opener while Raina might have to sit out as a change is unlikely to be made in the middle-order.
The team announced for the fourth and final test is as follows: Manhendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Suresh Raina, and Ishant Sharma.
India lead the ongoing series 3-0.