The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday confirmed that opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the Test series against South Africa.

Gaikwad, who was recently seen in the India vs South Africa ODI series, was also part of the two-test assignments against the Proteas. The Indian board also named a replacement for him.

Gaikwad has been dropped out of the Test squad as he is suffering from an injury to his right finger. He picked up the injury in the second ODI of the series and was not part of the 3rd ODI as well. Notably, BCCI has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement in the main squad.

"Mr Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an injury to his right ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. He underwent scans, and following an expert consultation, the BCCI Medical Team has ruled him out of the remainder of the tour. He will be reporting to the NCA for further management of his injury. The Men's Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement," BCCI wrote in a press release.

The Indian Board has also made changes to the India A squad for the 3rd four-day match against South Africa. BCCI confirmed that fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the upcoming clash due to hamstring, while Kuldeep Yadav has also been released. The likes of Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Avesh Khan and Rinku Singh have been added to the A squad.

"Fast bowler Harshit Rana has been ruled out of the four-day match against South Africa A starting on 26th December at Willowmoore Park in Benoni owing to a hamstring injury. The Selection Committee has added Mr Rajat Patidar, Mr Sarfaraz Khan, Mr Avesh Khan and Mr Rinku Singh to India A's squad while Mr Kuldeep Yadav has been released from the squad," the release further noted.

India's updated Test squad for SA series:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)