KL Rahul sustained an injury to his right thigh in the Indian Premier League match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 1, this year. He had surgery in London, and is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy of Bengaluru.
Rahul is racing against the clock to prepare his body for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup that will begin in India in October. He could play as India’s wicketkeeper if he recovers but this is still in doubt.
Why KL Rahul might have difficulty finding a place in India’s playing XI, despite his recovery before the World Cup?
Even if KL Rahul fully recovers before the ODI World Cup it will be hard for him to get a spot in the team, let alone the starting XI. The reason is because of his terrible form.
Due to a lean patch, he has struggled to score runs and has only managed to play a decent knock every blue moon. Last time he played 50-overs for India, he faced Australia in Chennai.
In white-ball cricket, he used to open with Rohit Singh but in his absence the Indian management has experimented with this combination. Ishan Gill and Shubman Kishan opened for India during the recent West Indies ODI Series.
Kishan did well, as he also handles the gloves. With the bat, he has been the most consistent, scoring 50 in each of the three ODIs. India has Sanju Samuel, a wicketkeeper that also batted and scored a 50 in West Indies. Rahul will find it difficult to secure his place in the team.
