KL Rahul doubtful for a one-off Test against England

The talented top-order batter KL Rahul is not expected to be fit for a one-off Test against England scheduled to be played from July 1 to July 5 at Birmingham. 

Recently, Rahul missed the home T20I series against South Africa due to a right groin strain injury. 

The 30-year-old batter was also named as the captain of the Indian team but had to pull out on the eve of the 1st T20I in Delhi. In place of him, Rishabh Pant was chosen as the leader. 

The one-off Test match will continue the 5-match red ball series between India and England. The final Test match could not take place due to the covid cases in the Indian camp. 

According to the sources, Rahul reported at National Cricket Academy (NCA) but has not reportedly completed the treatment of the injury. With this update, his participation in the white-ball games is also jeopardised. 

After the red-ball fixture, both the teams will face each other in 3 ODIs and as many T20Is. 

Most of the members of the squad will depart for England on June 16 (Thursday), while Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and the head coach Rahul Dravid will leave on June 20 after the culmination of the 5-match T20I series against South Africa.

The Indian Test squad will face Leicestershire in a practice match from June 24 at Grace Road.  

Along with Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav missed the series and reported to the NCA due to a blow on his head. 

Mayank Agarwal is expected to get a call-up to the Indian Test squad to replace Rahul.