BENGALURU: With a little over a month left for the ICC World Cup and a few days before India open their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan, questions swirl over the fitness of middle-order batter and designated 50-overs wicketkeeper KL Rahul.
On Tuesday, head coach Rahul Dravid said the 30-year-old had been ruled out of India’s first two Asia Cup matches, against Pakistan and Nepal. At the World Cup, in the absence of Rishabh Pant, Rahul has been primed to be wicketkeeper but his injury woes could disrupt those plans.
Rahul suffered a thigh injury during the IPL and has since undergone surgery and subsequent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. Now, he has picked up a niggle during practice.
“Rahul has had a very good week here with us, really trained and progressing well on the route he wants to take. But, he will be unavailable for the Kandy leg of the Asia Cup. The NCA will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling. We will recess on September 4 and take it from there, but signs are looking good,” said Dravid after watching Rahul warm up and then bat freely against spin and pace for over half an hour.
Although wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is in the squad and Sanju Samson has been drafted in as a reserve player, Rahul’s prolonged absence translates into lesser game time ahead of the World Cup.
“From our perspective, it is just two less games. Shreyas Iyer and Rahul are in the same boat. KL is batting and keeping well. It is just a slightly more cautious approach with him leading into the World Cup. He will have a couple of match simulations over the next few days which will give him a longer time out there in the middle. We are hoping that it is only two games that he misses and will be available. I’m not worried about it. Shreyas and he are experienced players and hopefully, we can give him game time in Colombo,” Dravid said.
