IND Vs ENG: KL Rahul Ruled Out Of Third Test Against England In Rajkot, Devdutt Padikkal Named As Replacement
New Delhi: In a latest development, star India batter KL Rahul has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Rajkot, beginning on February 15, as he is yet to regain full fitness. His Karnataka teammate Devdutt Padikkal has been named as a replacement. This is also Paddikal’s maiden India call-up in Tests. With no Virat Kohli already, Rahul’s absence makes matters worse for India.
The BCCI dropped Shreyas Iyer for the final three Tests, which means, Gill is the only experienced batter in the Indian middle order. Rajat Patidar looked solid during his stay in the middle in the second Test while one among Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Paddikal is going to make his debut in Rajkot.
“KL Rahul, whose availability for the remaining three Tests was subject to fitness, has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Rajkot. Rahul has reached 90 per cent of match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team,” BCCI said on Monday.
“He will continue his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be completely match-fit for the fourth and fifth Test. The Men’s Selection Committee named Devdutt Padikkal as KL Rahul’s replacement for the third Test, starting February 15, 2024,” it added.
Rahul was initially named for the final three Tests, as announced by the BCCI. To add to that, the Indian team aren’t too sure about Ravindra Jadeja’s hamstring injury update. “The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team,” the BCCI had stated in it’s release.
Rahul, who scored 86 and 22 in the first Test in Hyderabad, had complained of pain in his right quadriceps and missed the second Test match that India won by 106 runs. He had his scans done at the NCA in Bengaluru where it was clear that he wasn’t up to full fitness.
Meanwhile, Paddikal, who rose to fame from IPL, is coming after a solid domestic season. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Padikkal has already scored 556 runs at an average of 92.67 for Karnataka including three centuries. He had also hit a century for India A against England Lions in the unofficial Test.
In all, Padikkal has 31 first-class games under his belt, amassing 2227 runs at an average of 44.54. He made his India debut in the shortest format of the game, having playing two T20Is against Sri Lanka in July 2021. The southpaw was also a part of the India A’s tour of South Africa and trained alongside India regulars during the intra-squad matches.
In his most recent Ranji Trophy match, the 23-year-old Padikkal scored 151 with the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar watching his knock from the stands. His best of 193 in the current season came against Tamil Nadu.