3 reasons why KL Rahul's injury is a big blow to India for Tests vs England
India's KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out of the upcoming second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, which starts on February 2. While Rahul suffered pain in his right quadriceps, Jadeja was ruled out with a hamstring injury. India lost the first Test in Hyderabad and will dearly miss the aforementioned duo as well as Virat Kohli in the second game.
KL Rahul scored a magnificent 86 in the first innings in Hyderabad, helping the Men in Blue post a total of 426. Many fans and critics alike would argue that he was perhaps unlucky to miss out on what would have been his ninth Test century.
In this article, we will look at three reasons why KL Rahul's injury is a big blow to India for Tests vs England:
#1 India have an inexperienced middle order
The first Test against England featured an Indian red ball playing 11 that didn't have any one of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane for the first time since 2011. This shows that the Men in Blue are currently in a big transition phase.
Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were the replacements in the 3-4-5 slots. Both Gill and Iyer have struggled to make their mark in Test cricket. Although injuries have haunted his career in the longest form of the game, Rahul has shown sparks of brilliance.
As Kohli is set to return only in the third Test in Rajkot, India will likely field a playing XI that consists of Gill, Iyer, and one of Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan, both of whom haven't made their Test debuts. Ravindra Jadeja's absence will further weaken the Indian lower middle order.
#2 Added pressure on Rohit Sharma
After the first Test, Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned that Rohit Sharma faced a task similar to what Sachin Tendulkar did for several years: carrying an experienced batting order. This batting order becomes even more inexperienced without Rahul.
Although Yashasvi Jaiswal has been impressive, his fledgling career is just five Tests old. Gill and Iyer have not only been inconsistent in the longest format but have also played just 21 and 13 Tests, respectively. As mentioned earlier, a debutant at number five is imminent. KS Bharat has just played six Tests and isn't renowned for his batting exploits.
Meanwhile, Rahul has played 50 Tests, which is more than the combined total of Tests played by Jaiswal, Gill and Iyer (49). He has a decent average of 41.24 in 17 home Tests, which could have been more if his career was not plagued by injuries.
#3 KL Rahul was in sublime form in the last few months
KL Rahul had a fantastic 2023 World Cup, where he scored 452 runs in ten innings at an average of 75.33 and a strike rate of 90.76. He took this rich vein of form into India's tour of South Africa in December and January, where he scored 56 in the second ODI. Moreover, he led the side to a 2-1 win in the ODI leg of the tour.
The 31-year-old played one of his career's finest knocks against South Africa in the first Test at Centurion. Walking in to bat at 92/4, Rahul scored 101 off 137 balls to take his side to a respectable total of 245. Despite losing the match by a margin of an innings and 32 runs, Rahul's knock was noteworthy.
Rahul was the leading run-getter for the Men in Blue in the first Test against England. It felt like India had found their long-term replacement for Ajinkya Rahane at number three. However, this injury will have short-term implications for the Rohit Sharma-led team, as Rahul will be a huge miss in Visakhapatnam.