ENG vs IND 2021: KL Rahul excited to be 'back with the boys'
Team India cricketer KL Rahul is excited to be back with his teammates, as Virat Kohli & Co begin their preparations for the five-match Test series against England. The series will start on August 4 in Nottingham.
After a 20-day break since the WTC final defeat against New Zealand, the cricketers reassembled on July 14 before traveling to Durham the next day. After the first training session in Durham, KL Rahul took to Twitter to share a couple of pictures. He captioned the post:
"Back with the boys."
In the pictures uploaded, KL Rahul was seen playing football while Mayank Agarwal kept a close watch. India had a light training session on Friday before they play Durham's select County Championship XI in their first warm-up game on July 20.
KL Rahul to keep wicket in the first warm-up match
With Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha ruled out of the first practice game, KL Rahul will don the wicket-keeping gloves.
It will also give him a much-needed opportunity to impress with the bat with an opener's slot still up for grabs after Shubman Gill's injury that ruled him out of the entire series.
“Both Pant and Saha will be unavailable for the team’s practice game against Combined County XI at Chester-le-Street at Durham from July 20, which means KL Rahul should be going the glovework in that game," TOI quoted a source as saying.
Pant, who is the first-choice wicket-keeper, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 8 and has isolated himself at a relative's house. On the other hand, Wriddhiman Saha came in close contact with India's throwdown specialist Dayanand Garani, who also has contracted the deadly virus.
As a result, BCCI's medical team has advised Saha to undergo a quarantine before joining the squad. Neither of them has traveled to Durham and will join the squad sometime later. However, both Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha will be available for the final warm-up intra-squad match, starting on July 28.