This had been in the winds for a while and it has been confirmed now. According to BCCI, Dinesh Karthik will replace injured Wriddhiman Saha in India’s sole Test against Afghanistan later this month.

Saha got inflicted with a thumb injury while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and hasn’t been able to recover from it. As a result, he has been ruled out of the Test against Afghanistan.

In a statement, BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary stated that Saha will need five to six weeks to recover and Dinesh Karthik will cover for him against Afghanistan.

"Mr Wriddhiman Saha has been ruled out of the one-off Paytm Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru from the 14th of June, 2018," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement.

"He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the 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," he added.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr Dinesh Karthik as the replacement for injured Saha," the BCCI statement further read.

Both the wicketkeepers featured in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League where Saha made only 234 runs from 14 games while Dinesh Karthik conjured 498 from 16 matches despite playing lower down the order.

With Saha’s injury, this will be the first time since 2010 when Dinesh Karthik will feature in Test cricket. The last time was in the aforementioned year when Indian took on Bangladesh in Chittagong.