Asia Cup: KL Rahul Ruled Out Of First 2 Matches, Confirms Indian Coach Dravid

KL Rahul will miss India's group stage matches against Pakistan and Nepal in the Asia Cup.

(Photo: PTI)

Indian wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul will be out of action for a little while longer, confirmed Indian coach Rahul David following the team's final training session on Tuesday in Alur.

Rahul will miss India's first two matches at the Asia Cup, including the team's opener against Pakistan on 3 September, Saturday. While the team departs for Sri Lanka later on Tuesday, Rahul will return to the NCA in Bengaluru where his progress will be assessed on 4 September.

"KL has had a good week here with us. Trained well and done a lot of things. He's progressing really well on the route that we want to take. But he will be unavailable for the Kandy leg of the trip," Dravid said.

"The NCA [National Cricket Academy] will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling. We will reassess on September 4 and take it from there. But signs are looking good and he's progressing really well," he added.

The update opens the door for a wicket-keeper batter position in the team, Ishan Kishan is the second option in the 17-man squad but with the opening slot already filled Sanju Samson, who is traveling as a reserve player, might be seen in action in the opening stage of the tournament.

In the squad selection press conference last week in the capital, BCCI's men's chief selector Ajit Agarkar had already hinted that KL may miss a little more cricket due to a recent niggle he had picked up. However, he did attend the Indian team's week-long fitness and medical training camp in Alur, Karnataka, and practiced both batting and wicket-keeping.

Rahul hasn’t featured in any matches since IPL 2023 after he suffered an injury in his right thigh. He underwent surgery in London and since then has been in a recovery at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, along with Shreyas Iyer and Jsprit Bumrah.

However, Bumrah and Iyer are all set to feature in the playing eleven during the Asia Cup.

Bumrah recently led the Indian T20I team against Ireland and clinched the title with a 2-0 win in a three-match series while Shreyas Iyer too has returned to full match fitness since his injury during the Border-Gavaskar series at home earlier this year.