KL Rahul, the great player for India and captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, hurt his right thigh on Monday during a match between LSG and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2023. Rahul injured himself while attempting to stop a boundary and was observed in excruciating agony. In the 19th over of the chase, Rahul was removed from the field and brought out to bat at No. 11, but he didn't appear to be in shape.
In particular, there are mounting concerns over Rahul's injury. After the game, Rahul's interim captain for LSG, Krunal Pandya, gave an update, stating that the LSG opener had injured his hip flexor. “What a terrible thing for Rahul to strain his hip flexor. The medical staff will evaluate it since I am unsure of its severity. According to information obtained, Rahul had an injury scan, and the findings would be available shortly.
In the meanwhile, LSG and India will have to consider his successor if he cannot get fit in time. India will probably go with the same opening combination as they used Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma at the top of the order in the latter stages of the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2023. If Rahul is unable to participate, India may need to choose a middle-order player.
Players that might step in for Rahul on the WTC team
1 – Sarfaraz Khan: If KL Rahul gets injured, Delhi Capitals batter Sarfaraz Khan might stand in as a like-to-like substitute. With a string of impressive performances in the Indian domestic season, Sarfaraz has been pounding on the doors of the Indian team. In the most recent Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, he hit three tonnes. A member of the BCCI's national selection panel named Sirdharan Sharath had previously said that Sarfaraz was being watched by the squad.
Ishan Kishan, a batsman with the Mumbai Indians, is a second option for Rahul. Kishan was a member of India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 team, although he did not play in any of the four matches that took place there. Being a hitter, Kishan can be important for India, who already lack Rishabh Pant. Additionally, Kishan keeps wickets.
Hanuma Vihari of Andhra Pradesh is another player who might bat in the middle order. Vihari has had some success for India in Test matches. He participated in 16 Tests for the country. Vihari, however, has previous experience competing against Australia.
Indian team for WTC 2023 championship game:
Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Jaydev Unadkat are the other members of the squad.
