NEWS
Follow UsIndia have called-up Devdutt Padikkal in place of the injured KL Rahul for the third Test against England, starting Thursday (February 15) in Rajkot, the BCCI has confirmed. Rahul missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam due to pain in his right quadriceps, allowing Rajat Patidar to make his debut.
"Mr. Rahul has reached 90 per cent of match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team. He will continue his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be completely match-fit for the fourth and fifth Test," the BCCI said in a release.
He was due to join the Indian team on Tuesday (February 13), but it looks like his Karnataka teammate Padikkal will link up with the Test side instead.
Rahul was named in the Test squad for the remainder of the series, subject to injury, but has not pulled up in time. India are alresdy missing the services of Virat Kohli due to personal reasons, along with Shreyas Iyer. Ravindra Jadeja's participation in Rajkot, too, remains doubtful after he sustained a hamstring injury in the first Test in Hyderabad. However, his participation will be confirmed after undergoing a fitness test.
With plenty of injuries in sight, Padikkal, who has played two T20Is for India, gets his maiden Test call-up. He has been in phenomenal form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, having hit 556 runs at 92.67, with three centuries to go to his name, including 151 against Tamil Nadu in the recent round.
He has scored 2,227 runs at 44.54 in first-class cricket since making his debut in the 2018-19 season.
