KL Rahul, senior opener in India, has tested positive for COVID-19. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly inquired about Rahul after the Apex Board of Directors meeting in Mumbai on Thursday. Rahul recently underwent surgery and had resumed training with the NCA in Bengaluru. He was named in the T20I squad for the West Indies tour and was due to be in fitness in a few days. With his COVID test returning positive, it remains to be seen whether he will travel to the West Indies or not. The T20I series starts on July 29 in Tadouba.
Rahul himself had addressed the candidates who had completed the Level-3 coach certification course at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on Thursday. Ganguly also said a member of the women’s team at the Commonwealth Games in India was also infected with COVID-19. However, he did not disclose the player’s name.
With the latest development, there seems to be no end to Rahul’s scorching run. He was due to lead India in June’s T20I series at home to South Africa but was ruled out due to a groin injury. He then underwent successful surgery for a sports hernia in Germany and is now on his way to recovery. Rahul has had recurring abdominal fitness issues over the years, including groin and hamstring injuries. “It was a tough few weeks but the surgery was successful. I am healing and recovering well. My road to recovery has begun. Thank you for your messages and prayers. See you soon,” Rahul had previously tweeted.
Rahul was for the upcoming T20I five-game series against the West Indies, which started on July 29. However, he would only travel to the Caribbean islands if he passed the fitness tests. Rahul is one of India’s prolific scorers in the shortest format and is expected to play a key role in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. The 30-year-old has played 42 Tests, 42 ODIs and 56 T20Is for India in the past eight years.
India’s squad for 5 T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldepnoi Yadav*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
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*The inclusion of KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
With PTI inputs
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