India have been dealt a blow in the lead-up to the Rajkot Test against England with KL Rahul ruled out due to a sore knee. He had missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam too after complaining of pain in his right quadriceps and following scans done in Bangalore it became clear that he wasn’t up to full fitness. Originally, he was due to link up with the squad on Tuesday but now it will be his Karnataka team-mate Devdutt Padikkal who will be joining them.
Already light on batting experience with Virat Kohli missing due to personal reasons, Rahul’s absence further complicates matters for India, who also didn’t pick Shreyas Iyer for the remaining three Tests. That aside, it isn’t confirmed yet whether Ravindra Jadeja has recovered from the hamstring injury he had suffered during the first Test in Hyderabad. Jadeja is in the squad to play in Rajkot, which is his home ground, but his participation is pending fitness clearance.
This is Padikkal’s first call up to the Test squad and he brings with him a solid run of recent form. Padikkal has 556 runs at an average of 92.67 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, where he has hit three centuries. Just before smashing 151 in a Player-of-the-Match performance against Tamil Nadu on Friday, he hit 105 for India A against the England Lions.
Overall, Padikkal has played 31 first-class matches, and has 2227 runs at 44.54, having made his debut during the 2018-19 domestic season. He has played two T20Is for India, both of which came against Sri Lanka in July 2021.
