India vice-captain and opener KL Rahul has been ruled out of the upcoming 5 T20I series against West Indies, which starts on July 29.
Rahul didn’t fly to Trinidad with the T20I squad and it was reported that he had been ruled out for the first 3 T20Is. Now, according to the latest report in the Times of India, the 30-year-old will miss the entire series, despite recovering from covid-19.
KL Rahul hasn’t played a single match since IPL 2022
Last Thursday, KL Rahul had tested positive for the covid-19, and after returning two mandatory negative results, his isolation will come to an end on Wednesday. But, he has been advised one more week’s rest by the BCCI’s medical team, ruling him out for the remainder of the West Indies tour.
“Rahul needs rest for another fortnight to recover completely from Covid. However, it is unlikely that a replacement for him will be sent to the West Indies. Either Rishabh Pant or Ishan Kishan can open with Rohit. There’s no point in sending someone now,” a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
He is expected to mark his return on the tour of Zimbabwe, where India will play 3 ODIs on August 18, 20 and 22 before they fly out to the UAE for the Asia Cup starting August 27.
A groin injury earlier, which he had sustained ahead of the South Africa T20Is soon after the IPL 2022, and now covid-19 means that Rahul will not have taken the field for two months for the national team. Last month Rahul underwent groin surgery in Germany.
After the successful completion of the operation, he went to the NCA and has been posting pictures and videos on his social media account about his rehab programme where he contracted the virus.
He missed the South Africa and Ireland T20I series and then the entire England and West Indies tours.
KL Rahul had another rewarding IPL season – leading the Lucknow Super Giants, the right-hander finished as the second-highest run-getter in IPL 2022, aggregating 616 runs, but his strike rate of 135 drew plenty of criticism.
India’s squad for the five T20Is vs WI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
The selectors haven’t named a vice-captain yet for the T20I series; Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are the leading contender to be announced as Rohit Sharma’s deputy.
