KL Rahul will be unavailable for the first two games of the Asia Cup due to a “niggle”, confirmed head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday. India is scheduled to play its tournament opener against Pakistan on September 2 and will face Nepal on September 4.
According to a PTI report, the niggle had nothing to do with the thigh injury that forced him to miss several months of action and necessitated surgery.
He made it to the squad as India’s preferred wicket-keeper for the tournament, which begins on Wednesday. However, Ishan Kishan is likely to get the nod as the back-up wicket-keeper in the matches Rahul is unavailable.
Sanju Samson, also a wicket-keeper batter, has also been named as a reserve with the Indian team.
Providing further clarity on Rahul’s return to the Indian team, Dravid said, “It’s just two less games from our perspective. KL is batting well. Slightly more cautious approach leading into the World Cup. He will have a few match simulations over the course of the next few days in the middle.
“We are hoping it will be only two games that he misses and he will be back for the later stages. We also have an Australia series,” he added.
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