KL Rahul out of 3rd Test vs England in Rajkot after failing to recover from injury.
India’s middle-order batter, KL Rahul, ruled out of 3rd Test against England in Rajkot. Scheduled to join squad with Jasprit Bumrah on Monday, Rahul remains at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Exclusion reportedly precautionary due to right quadriceps injury leading to Rahul missing Visakhapatnam Test. Initially part of squad for last 3 Tests, Rahul’s fitness concerns prompted omission.
Devdutt Padikkal called up as Rahul’s replacement. 23-year-old Karnataka batter, enjoying successful first-class season, recently scored impressive 151 against Tamil Nadu. Adds to his three centuries in ongoing Ranji Trophy, including notable 105 against England Lions in second unofficial Test.
For upcoming Test in Rajkot, Indian team, opting to move past out-of-form Shreyas Iyer and veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, introducing fresh faces. Selectors maintain confidence in Rajat Patidar, who made debut in Visakhapatnam, and anticipated debut of Sarfaraz Khan.
Squad for 3rd Test includes Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, and Devdutt Padikkal.
