India batsman K L Rahul was on Tuesday ruled out of the remaining two Tests against Australia after sustaining a wrist injury during training in Melbourne, the BCCI said on Tuesday.
Rahul had not played any match of the ongoing series in which the third Test starts on Thursday here. He had hurt the wrist on Saturday, during India’s practice session at the MCG. KL Rahul will return to India, for rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru.
India have since flown to Sydney, where the third Test is scheduled to kick off on January 7. A fourth Test follows from January 15. The series is currently level at 1-1. Rahul will return to India for rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and require “about three weeks’ time to recover completely and regain full strength”, a BCCI release said.
This could put him in doubt for at least the start of India’s four-Test home series against England, which is scheduled to begin on February 5 in Chennai. Rahul had not played either of the first two Tests against Australia, but there was potential for him to slot into the XI in Sydney given Mayank Agarwal’s poor run at the top.
Rahul’s injury adds to a long list of unavailable players for India. Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the Australia tour with an abdominal muscle injury. Then, since the start of the Test series, India have also lost the services of Virat Kohli, who is away on paternity leave, and fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who picked up injuries in first and second Test respectively.
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