Dravid gives an update on KL Rahul’s involvement in the Asia Cup
KL Rahul will remain at the NCA, and on September 4 a decision regarding his participation in the competition will be made.
KL Rahul was ruled out on Tuesday due to a “niggle” for the opening two games of the 2018 Asia Cup.
Rahul Dravid, the head coach of India, disclosed that this ‘niggle’ was unrelated to the thigh ailment he had sustained during the IPL that had kept him out of play for months.
In advance of India’s trip to Sri Lanka for the 2023 Asia Cup, Rahul Dravid provided an update on their star batter.
Due to his ongoing injury recuperation, KL Rahul is expected to miss the first two Group stage games of the Asia Cup 2023.
Rahul will remain in Bangalore with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and be evaluated once more on September 4 in preparation for the Asia Cup’s Super 4 round.
At the pre-departure press conference on Tuesday, August 29, head coach Rahul Dravid stated, “He’s had a really good week with us.” “Really beautifully done, and a lot of things were done. He is moving down the path we want him to go quite well.
However, he won’t be available for the Kandy portion of the tour or the opening round of the Asia Cup. For the next few days while we are traveling, the NCA will take care of him.
“We’ll reevaluate on September 4 and go from there. But he’s making excellent progress, and the indicators are encouraging. He won’t be available for the opening two contests.
Rahul’s comeback will be essential for India, both in terms of wicket-keeping and in the middle order, where he has excelled at No. 5. Rahul has scored 742 runs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of almost 100 in 18 games while playing in the middle of the order.
India has been forced to scurry to identify appropriate prospects going into the World Cup in his absence along with Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant owing to injury.
The experimentation was frequently questioned, but David defended their choices, which were made in the face of extreme pressure.
To give you an example, Dravid said, “The Nos. 4 and 5 spots seem to get discussed and talked about a lot, giving the impression that we don’t have clarity on who was going to be there. To be very honest with you, though, I could have told you who the two or three candidates were we were looking at for the Nos. 4 and 5 slots 18 or 19 months ago.
“Since 18 months ago, the competition for those positions was always going to be between Shreyas, KL, and Rishabh. It’s sad that all three of them in that situation sustained injuries within a two-month period. What are the chances that would occur? Nobody is able to compute for that.
And not minor wounds, correct? severe wounds. They’ve all had to undergo surgery and have had surgeries.
It’s encouraging to know that at least two of the three have recovered enough to be available for us.
India’s Asia Cup campaign gets underway on September 2 in Kandy with a pivotal match against Pakistan. They will compete against Nepal in the last group-stage matchup two days later.
Rahul shows off his batting form in the Alur nets
Rahul did not keep wicket on Tuesday, the last day of India’s six-day conditioning camp in Alur, but he did play a significant amount of batting. After some short warm-up exercises to start his day, he batted for over 35 minutes.
Due to his position at No. 5, Rahul started against the spin and appeared to be in excellent shape. He made good use of the depth of the crease to nudge deliveries, utilized his feet well to step out and strike legspinner Mayank Markande against the turn, and then appeared to bring out full-blooded sweeps against the two left-arm spinners R Sai Kishore and Manav Suthar.
Rahul then faced up against the new ball against Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna in the second net. Rahul appeared to be primarily concerned with positioning himself to take advantage of the bounce, getting behind the line and playing straight, or utilizing pace to direct the ball behind.
Finally, he appeared at the throw-down specialist’s net, appearing to be trying to duck and position himself well against the short ball.
Rahul spoke with coach Dravid and Virat Kohli after the practice.
While Rahul has not experienced any physical discomfort over the past couple of days, the team management has taken special care to make sure his wicket keeping drills haven’t been overly taxing.
He practiced keeping drills on Monday that emphasized sideways motions, particularly to spin. But it was very brief, as if to ease him in.
Rishabh Pant, who spent some time with the squad participating in rehabilitation and fitness drills, was also overheard conversing with him. Sanju Samson has been designated as a traveling reserve, and India’s Asia Cup roster includes Ishan Kishan as a wicketkeeper alternative.
