KL Rahul has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Rajkot due to injury, with Devdutt Padikkal called-up to the India squad as his replacement.

Rahul missed the second Test in Vizag with a quadriceps injury that he picked up during the opening match of the series in Hyderabad. He was kept in India’s squad for the rest of the series, with his fitness to be monitored.

However, three days ahead of the third Test, Rahul has been ruled out of the game as he is set to not recover in time. The BCCI have named Devdutt Padikkal, the young left-handed top-order batter from Karnataka as his replacement.

🚨Just In: According to The Indian Express, KL Rahul has been ruled out of the Rajkot Test against England. 🚨#KLRahul #India #Cricket #DevduttPadikkal #INDvsENG #Tests #Cricket pic.twitter.com/rUiWbJOibI

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) February 12, 2024

A statement from the BCCI read: “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.”

Padikkal has played two T20Is for India and has been a regular feature in the IPL for the last few seasons, first for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, then for the Rajasthan Royals.

This is his maiden call-up to the Test side, one that has come on the back of a strong domestic season and some solid performances for India A.

In the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy, Padikkal has scored 556 runs at 92.66 from six innings, crossing the three-figure mark three times. In between, he also scored a hundred for India A against the England Lions in the recent series between the two sides.

India have been plagued by injuries and unavailability of players in this series. Virat Kohli has pulled out of the first four Tests of the series due to personal reasons, Ravindra Jadeja missed the second Test due to an injury and there’s no clarity yet on his participation in the third, and now Rahul is set to miss his second straight game.

With Shreyas Iyer dropped from the side, there remains room for a batter to slot in at No.4 in the Rajkot Test. India have Sarfaraz Khan in the squad, who could be in line for a much-awaited Test debut if the management is to follow the pecking order, or they can hand Padikkal a Test cap outside his preferred position if they feel the need to include a left-hander in the middle order.

The third Test starts on February 15.

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