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In the latest update on KL Rahul’s injury status, it has been revealed that the India opening batter will miss the entire England tour and will travel to Germany for treatment. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah confirmed the news of Rahul going abroad for treatment.
"That is correct, the board is working on his fitness and he will be going to Germany soon," BCCI Secretary Jay Shah told Cricbuzz on Thursday (June 16). Notably, KL Rahul was ruled out of action with a groin injury ahead of India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa.
With Rahul traveling to Germany for his treatment, the 30-year-old will be missing the entire England tour comprising as many as seven games across the three formats (1 Test, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is). The BCCI had named KL Rahul as India's vice-captain for the fifth rescheduled Test against England but as it stands out, the selectors will have to choose someone else to play Sharma's deputy.
However, no replacements for KL Rahul will be named in the squad for the fifth Test as Shubman Gill is already there to partner with Rohit Sharma at the top. "You have Shubman Gill, who has opened in most of his Test matches. Else, Cheteshwar Pujara can also open the batting, in case there is any fitness issues for any of the two openers. It was a 17-member squad and 16 will be going. So that's not a problem," a BCCI official was quoted saying by PTI on KL Rahul's replacement.
Notably, KL Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants in the recently concluded IPL 2022 where he led the team to the playoffs. He also scored over 600 runs in 15 matches. After that he was named as the captain of India's squad for the South Africa series (5 T20Is) and was all set to take center stage. But a groin injury a couple of days before the 1st T20I ruled KL Rahul out of action.