Wrist Injury rules out Ruturaj Gaikwad from 1st India vs Sri Lanka T20I

Young Team India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was deemed unavailable for the first T20I of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. That's because he complained of pain in his right wrist, as intimated by the BCCI in a medical update on Thursday (February 24).

The first T20I is taking place at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow, and a lot of fans were looking forward to seeing Gaikwad in action. However, they were disappointed when captain Rohit Sharma announced changes to the starting XI at the toss.

Shortly after, the BCCI released an official update that read:

"UPDATE - Ruturaj Gaikwad complained of pain in his right wrist, which is affecting his batting. He was unavailable for selection for the first T20I. The BCCI Medical Team is examining him."

Gaikwad made his much-awaited T20I debut in the last game of the recent series against the West Indies. However, it didn't turn out the way he would hoped for. The stylish opener from Maharashtra managed only four off eight deliveries before he was dismissed by Jason Holder.

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Team India make six changes to playing XI for first T20I

Meanwhile, Team India have made a plethora of changes to their playing XI for their T20I series opener against former world champions Sri Lanka.

While Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been rested, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar and KL Rahul are unavailable due to injuries. Yadav's absence has opened up a spot for the mercurial Sanju Samson, who will look to make a case for himself ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.

Meanwhile, after making his ODI debut earlier this year, Hooda will look to make the most of his opportunity in the shortest format of the game. Elsewhere, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has made his comeback after he was rested for the West Indies leg of the home season. Ravindra Jadeja is back after missing the South African tour and the West Indies series due to injury.

"We have got six changes from the last game. Samson, Bumrah, Bhuvi, Chahal, Jadeja and Hooda come in. Ruturaj was initially supposed to play, but he has got some wrist issue. So he is not available for this game." said Rohit Sharma at the toss.

Meanwhile, India have got off to a blazing start, with openers Ishan Kishan (48*) and Rohit Sharma (37*) taking the team to 87-0 after nine overs.