India batting coach Vikram Rathour confirmed on Wednesday that stand-in captain KL Rahul suffered a hand injury on the eve of the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Although Rathour further clarified that the injury was not serious, he did not confirm whether the stand-in captain is a sure starter in the Test.
“It doesn’t [look serious]. He seems to be fine. Hopefully he’ll be okay. The doctors are looking at it, but hopefully he’ll be okay,” Rathour said in his pre-match press conference, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Rahul took the blow to his hand near the end of his nets session while receiving throwdowns from Rathour. Rahul’s injury is the latest in a lengthy line of injuries sustained during or before to this tour. Captain Rohit Sharma and pace bowler Navdeep Saini had previously been ruled out of the Dhaka Test.
If Rahul is indeed unavailable on Thursday, vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara would likely assume command. Meanwhile, Abhimanyu Easwaran who was initially called up as Rohit’s standby, could end up being handed a debut to open the batting with Shubman Gill.
India defeated Bangladesh by 188 runs to take a 1-0 series lead after dominating the hosts on a batting-friendly Chattogram wicket with turn and bounce.
Talking about how they were preparing for a different pitch in Dhaka, Rathour said, “We’re expecting this one to have a bit more bounce and turn than the previous one. We look to play according to the situation.”
He added, “We are fine with whatever wicket we get. We have absolutely no issues from our side. However it plays, we have to put up as many runs as we can and put up a good score if we bat first.”
India, currently second in the World Test Championships standings, will be looking to complete a clean sweep over Bangladesh before they take on their next assignment against Australia at home in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beginning in February.
“You expect wickets to turn in the sub-continent, and after this we will be playing an important series against Australia where wickets are expected to turn,” said Rathour.
He added, “So it’s good practice for us. It will be good preparation for Indian batters. We are not discussing anything tactically but looking forward to playing good cricket.
Quotes courtesy PTI
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