Rahane ruled out of IPL 2022, will miss England tour
Kolkata Knight Riders' opening batter, Ajinkya Rahane, has been ruled out for the remainder of matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. According to Cricbuzz, Rahane suffered a serious Grade III hamstring injury during KKR's last outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 14. It is understood that Rahane will likely miss the upcoming England tour as well. Here are further details.
As per reports, Rahane will undergo rehab at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. He may require over four weeks to ensure complete recovery. As a result, he would miss out on selection from India's tour of England for the fifth Test that would be played in June-July. Team India will leave for England on June 16, while the selections will take place shortly.
Rahane was bought by KKR at his base price of Rs. 1 crore in the IPL 2022 auction. The top-order batter slammed 44(34) against Chennai Super Kings in the season opener. However, the returns have been mediocre since then. Overall, he could amass only 133 runs in seven matches at 19.00 (SR 103.91). He scored a 24-ball 28 in the last game against SRH.
Rahane had abysmal returns in his last five Test series. The middle-order batter averaged a mere 22.67 across three Tests in South Africa. He was omitted for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in March. Cheteshwar Pujara too was dropped for the Sri Lanka series. However, he is enjoying a rip-roaring form in County Cricket underway. He could make a return in Tests.
As per Cricbuzz, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Cheteshwar Pujara will be considered for England tour. They will be relieved for the forthcoming T20I series against the Proteas.
Post IPL, the Men in Blue will be involved in a five-match T20I series against South Africa. The series will take place between June 9 and 19. Later, Team India will tour England between July 1 and 17. They will compete in the fifth and final Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham. That would be followed by three ODIs and as many T20Is.
