Indian batsman KL Rahul along with the BCCI medical team have gone unnoticed ahead of the third Test against England. As per PTI reports, it is learned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not happy with the misleading information regarding the batsman’s injury update.
KL Rahul suffered pain in his quadriceps after the first Test against England in Hyderabad. This forced the batsman to miss the second Test as he was ruled out due to the injury. Before the third Test, he was included in the Indian squad for the last three games, but his availability was subject to his physical condition.
After the team was announced, KL Rahul shared a video on his Instagram account in which he is seen batting. The batsman did not seem to feel any discomfort while he batted and played magnificent drives. This created a ray of hope among the fans that he will play the third game.
However, on Monday (February 12) he was ruled out of the match as he will need more time to recover. With the developments regarding KL Rahul grabbing the headlines, a senior BCCI official has expressed his anger over the batsman and the board’s medical team.
A senior BCCI official pointed out that if the medical team was aware of a serious quadriceps injury, why did they allow him to be included in the team? He also lashed out at the batsman, saying that KL Rahul was sending wrong signals by posting videos. Speaking to PTI, he explained:
“If the BCCI medical team knew in the first place that Rahul’s quadriceps injury is as serious as it seems, why did they keep him in the provisional squad? And why is the player sending the wrong signals by posting videos of him batting on Instagram stories?
With KL Rahul ruled out of the Test match in Rajkot, a report in Indian Express suggested that Sarfaraz Khan will make his debut. The right-hander was named as Rahul’s replacement after he was ruled out of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Sarfaraz Khan will make it to the team on the back of his strong performances in the domestic circuit. He recently hit a ton against the England Lions and has been the most consistent player on the domestic circuit.
BCCI names KL Rahul’s replacement for Rajkot
With KL Rahul ruled out of the third Test, BCCI immediately announced the batsman’s replacement. Karnataka batsman Devdutt Padikkal was called up. The young opener has had a ridiculous touch in domestic cricket and has been rewarded for the same.
BCCI confirmed that KL Rahul has achieved 90% fitness and will be under the supervision of the BCCI medical team at NCA. Releasing the official statement, the governing body stated:
“KL Rahul, whose availability for the remaining three Tests was subject to his fitness, has been ruled out for the third Test against England in Rajkot. Mr. Rahul has reached 90 per cent of his match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI medical team.
He will continue his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be fully fit for the fourth and fifth Tests. The Men’s Selection Committee named Devdutt Padikkal as KL Rahul’s replacement for the third Test. starting February 15, 2024.”
Updated India squad for 3rd Test:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.