3 players who can replace Ruturaj Gaikwad in India's Test squad vs South Africa ft. Sai Sudharsan

A finger injury has seemingly cut short Ruturaj Gaikwad's South African sojourn, with reports emerging of the Indian batter being ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series commencing on December 26.

A report on Cricbuzz mentions that Gaikwad won't recover in time from the injury he sustained in the second ODI against the Proteas at Gqeberha, which also kept him out of the final ODI in Paarl on Thursday, December 21.

The Maharashtra opener is uncapped at the Test level but received a call-up for the Test tour of the West Indies as backup for skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. He was also named in the India A squad for the second four-day game against South Africa A that was to commence at the same time as the first Test.

Gaikwad's injury is another blow to India, who are already without the injured Mohammed Shami as well as Ishan Kishan, who has withdrawn from the Test squad due to personal reasons. The aforementioned report also states that Virat Kohli has also flown back home owing to a family emergency although he is expected to return in time for the first Test.

A replacement could well be looked at and the selectors have a fair number of options to choose from with the India A squad playing in South Africa too.

Here, we look at three possible candidates who can replace Gaikwad in the Test squad.

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#1 B Sai Sudharsan

A Test call-up would only cap off what has been a meteoric rise for B Sai Sudharsan. The Tamil Nadu batter was handed his maiden national team call-up for the recently concluded ODI series and he impressed with his confidence and sound technique, stroking his way to two half-centuries.

His judgment of length and movement - coupled with his nimble feet - make him one of the near complete batters among the younger crop. It reflects in a decent first-class record too - 843 runs in 12 matches at an average of 42.15.

The average is not too dissimilar to that of Gaikwad's in first-class cricket, especially with Sudharsan having played far fewer games. He will be fast-tracked should he be asked to stay back for the Tests, but Sudarshan has the game and the temperament to come up trumps even if it is against a red-hot South African pace attack against him.

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#2 Abhimanyu Easwaran

Abhimanyu Easwaran has for long been unfortunate to have not gotten his Test cap. When Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the Tests in Bangladesh a year ago, he was summoned as the backup opener before being discarded from the side later.

Easwaran is set to lead India A in the second four-day game that will run in parallel with the Boxing Day Test even though he missed the first one and was named subject to fitness concerns. Having recovered now, he could be in line to link up with the Test squad as a backup with Gaikwad ruled out should the selectors turn towards him.

The 28-year-old opener's first-class record makes for outstanding reading - 6,567 runs at an average of 47.24 with 22 hundreds. He has often had to go back and score the big runs consistently to keep knocking on the door and maybe, it could just open for him at last.

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#3 Rajat Patidar

Some would suggest this is a left-field call since Rajat Patidar is not part of the India A squad to face their South African counterparts. But from the point of view of his strengths and similarities to Gaikwad in the same regard, he could be a decent option to replace the latter in the Test squad.

Like Gaikwad, Patidar's game is centered around getting on top of the bounce against the fast bowlers. A strong backfoot game could see him counter the extra pace off hard lengths effectively and earn him success in South Africa.

He displayed glimpses of that during his 16-ball 22-run start on ODI debut in Paarl on Thursday. That he also scores quickly adds another dimension should he be slotted in as a middle-order option, with Shubman Gill there to fall back upon as a backup opener anyway.

Patidar's first-class record is also a solid one - he has so far tallied 3,795 runs in 52 matches at an average of 45.72. The Madhya Pradesh batter played an instrumental role in his side's Ranji Trophy triumph in 2022 and was also part of the India A squad that faced New Zealand A at home last year.

He should be trusted to deliver the goods at the highest level with his back foot game making him an interesting option to turn to.

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Who among these players should replace Ruturaj Gaikwad in India's Test squad for the South Africa series? Have your say in the comments section below!