Rajkot (Gujarat): Senior India batter KL Rahul was on Monday ruled out of the third Test against England, which will be played here from Thursday, the BCCI said.
"KL Rahul, whose availability for the remaining three Tests was subject to fitness, has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Rajkot. Rahul has reached 90 per cent of match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a media statement issued on Monday evening.
KL Rahul after failing to fully recover from his quadriceps strain had missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam. The Senior Selection Committee led by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar has named Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal as Rahul's replacement for the third Test, which will be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium (currently known as SCA Stadium) in Rajkot.
The BCCI also stated that Rahul "will continue his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be completely match-fit for the fourth and fifth Tests." The fourth and the fifth Tests of the five-match series are to be played in Ranchi and Dharamshala respectively.
Meanwhile, it is understood that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the local boy, has linked up with the team. The selectors had earlier named both KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in the squad subject to clearance from the BCCI's medical team.
In his most recent Ranji Trophy match, the 23-year-old Padikkal scored 151 with the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar watching his knock from the stands. Padikkal has been in excellent form this season. Having started with a 193 against Punjab in the opening game, he struck 103 against Goa.
Besides his exploits in Ranji, Padikkal, a left-handed batter, also scored 105, 65 and 21 in his three innings for India A in the two unofficial Tests against England Lions.
With Rahul being ruled out of the third Test, the doors could open for Mumbaikar Sarfaraz Khan in the middle-order now that Shreyas Iyer has also been excluded.
However, there will be more selection conundrum if Ravindra Jadeja takes his rightful place in the playing XI. Axar Patel has batted well in the two Tests so far and Kuldeep Yadav was the second-best Indian bowler in Visakhapatnam after pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. As far as the keeper's slot is concerned, time is running out for KS Bharat with Dhruv Jurel breathing down his neck, but the former could still get one last chance in Rajkot.
India’s updated Squad for the third Test: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal.
