KL Rahul ruled out of Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to wrist injury
India will be without KL Rahul's services for the rest of the ongoing Test series against Australia, as confirmed by the BCCI. The 28-year-old suffered an injury to his wrist while batting in the nets and is now set to return to India.
KL Rahul didn't feature in the first two Tests against Australia. However, given the woeful form of Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order, he might have been in contention to play in the Sydney Test, which will start from Thursday.
However, with this latest update, KL Rahul will return to India and head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for his rehabilitation.
BCCI's Honorary Secretary Jay Shah released a statement which read:
"KL Rahul sprained his left wrist while batting in the nets at the MCG during Team India’s practice session on Saturday. The wicketkeeper-batsman will not be available for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he will need about three weeks time to recover completely and regain full strength."
"He will now return to India and head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further rehabilitation of his injury."
KL Rahul's record against Australia
Many expected KL Rahul to get the nod in the middle order after the departure of Virat Kohli. However, the Indian team management went with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja instead.
The move paid off as India registered a comfortable eight-wicket victory in Melbourne, with Jadeja contributing with both bat and ball.
Rahul has so far played nine Tests against Australia, the most he has played against any nation. The right-handed batsman made his debut against the Aussies in the 2014-15 series where he smashed his maiden Test century in Sydney.
In the nine Tests against Australia, Rahul has scored 580 runs at an average of 38.67, including six fifties and one century.
After the initial success, KL Rahul hasn't managed to cement his place in the longest format of the game.