The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ruled out KL Rahul for India against England on Thursday.
The 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has not yet fully recovered from his quadriceps strain, the BCCI said. Rahul also missed the second Test match in Visakhapatnam last week.
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“Mr. Kahul has reached 90 percent of match fitness and is progressing well” with the BCCI Medical Team, the board added.
Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were earlier named to India’s lineup for the third Test match. However, the BCCI clarified that their status will be based on their fitness and availability before the match.
The National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru will continue to host Rahul during his recovery from injury.
Devdutt Padikkal was named by the BCCI as Rahul’s replacement for Thursday’s test match in Rajkot. The Karnataka left-hander recently scored 193 against Punjab and 103 against Goa.
Meanwhile, a senior BCCI official criticized the board for “sending the wrong signals” on the status of its key players.
While the BCCI medical team knew of Rahul’s injury, the official said the batsman was seen in action images on social media.
“And why is the player sending wrong signals by posting videos of his batting on Instagram,” said the BCCI official, who spoke anonymously.