KL Rahul to miss England tour; who will replace him?
Top-order batter KL Rahul is set miss to India's forthcoming tour to England. Rahul, who is sitting out of the South Africa T20I series at home due to a groin injury, will undergo his treatment in Germany. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the same on Thursday. India will play one Test and six white-ball games in England in July.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rahul will travel to Germany for his treatment. "That is correct, the board is working on his fitness and he will be going to Germany soon," Shah told Cricbuzz on Thursday. It is understood that Rahul would travel to Germany by the end of this month or the first week of July.
Earlier this month, the BCCI announced that Rahul has been ruled out of the South Africa T20I series after suffering a right groin injury. A medical team was supposed to assess Rahul's injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
In May, Rahul was named the captain of India's second-string T20I side, that is currently involved in the five-match series with South Africa. However, Rishabh Pant, who was named Rahul's deputy, got promotion after the injury ruled Rahul out of the series. Notably, Rahul led the ODI side in South Africa earlier this year in the absence of Rohit Sharma.
It will be an untimely halt for Rahul, who has been in sublime form. Rahul slammed 616 runs in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the third successive season where he touched the 600-run mark. He led Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs in their maiden season. Rahul smacked six 50-plus totals in the season, including his fourth IPL ton.
Earlier this year, Rahul was ruled out of the West Indies T20I series at home. He had sustained an upper left hamstring strain while fielding in the second ODI against the Caribbeans. Notably, Rahul last played a T20I in November 2021 (vs New Zealand).
After the ongoing SA series, India will travel to Ireland to play two T20Is. All-rounder Hardik Pandya would lead the second-string Indian side there. The Test-bound players will travel to England to play last summer's rescheduled fifth Test in Manchester. Thereafter, India are slated to play six white-ball matches against England. The limited-overs leg includes three T20Is and as many ODIs.
India's squad for England Test: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
Rahul was a vital cog for India in the Test series (unfinished) against England last year. He partnered Rohit Sharma at the top, having scored 315 runs, including a century at Lord's. It remains to be seen if the BCCI names a replacement for Rahul. Meanwhile, Youngster Shubman Gill is expected to open with Rohit in the only Test.
