KL Rahul, whose participation in the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamsala was subject to fitness, has been ruled out of the fixture, BCCI confirmed in a statement.
“The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring him and coordinating with specialists in London for further management of his issue,” the statement further added.
The 31-year-old batter had travelled to London for a specialist’s opinion on the injury to right quadriceps that had forced him to miss 2nd, 3rd and the 4th Tests against England.
The KL Rahul Conundrum: There is Need for the BCCI to Provide More Clarity
Rahul had earlier been sidelined during the 2023 edition of the IPL where he hurt himself while fielding for the Lucknow Super Giants. The injury required surgery and rehabilitation which kept him off the field for more than four months.
He made his return in the Super-four fixture in the Asia Cup against Pakistan with a fantastic knock of 111* and then went on to be a crucial part of India’s stellar World Cup run at home. In the tour of South Africa, he managed to hit a century as well in the first Test at Centurion and scored 86 in the first Test against England at Hyderabad.
But since then he has been out of action and missed the next three Tests. BCCI, in a press release ahead of the Rajkot Test, had stated,” KL Rahul has reached 90 per cent of match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI medical team.”
KL Rahul Heads to London for Expert Medical Opinion: Report
Another Chance for Rajat Patidar?
With Rahul unavailable, middle-order batter Rajat Paditar, who made his debut in the 2nd Test at the expense of Rahul could get one more chance to impress in the 5th Test. After a composed 32 on debut at Vizag, Patidar failed to go past the 20-run mark in his next five Test innings. This has put a big question mark on the 30-year-old’s place in the playing XI, with calls for replacing the MP batter with Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal building momentum. Padikkal, was drafted into the squad for the final three Tests on the back of a rewarding Ranji Trophy season and good performances against England Lion earlier this year.
Jasprit Bumrah Set to Return
Jasprit Bumrah who was released from the squad for the 4th Test in Ranchi, will link-up with the squad in Dharamsala for the 5th Test while Washington Sundar has been released from the squad. He will join Tamil Nadu – his Ranji Trophy side – for their Ranji Trophy Semi-final fixture against Mumbai, starting March 2nd, 2024. He will join the India squad after the completion of the domestic fixture for the fifth Test, if need be.
Mohammad Shami Update
Giving an update on pacer Mohammad Shami, the BCCI statement read, “Mohd. Shami successfully underwent a surgery on 26th February, 2024 for his right heel problem. He is recovering well and will soon head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to commence his rehabilitation process.”
India’s updated squad for the 5th Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
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