KL Rahul tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of India tour of West Indies
India’s batting star KL Rahul tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, days ahead of his potential comeback to the senior national team.
Rahul was picked for the 5-match T20I series between the West Indies and India, starting July 29 in Trinidad. KL Rahul has been training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, working on regaining full fitness ahead of the T20I series against the West Indies.
Rahul was not picked for the 3-match ODI series, starting July 22 in the Caribbean, but the Karnataka batter was set to make a much-anticipated comeback to the senior national side during the T20I series.
Only on Thursday, NCA chief VVS Laxman thanked KL Rahul for interacting with aspiring cricket coaches at the NCA.
“Thank you @klrahul for addressing the candidates attending the Level-3 coach certification course at NCA. Listening to your different experiences as a player and captain will definitely help these passionate coaches to learn, improve and excel in their careers,” Laxman said, sharing photos of Rahul’s interaction with the coaches at the NCA in Bengaluru.
Notably, KL Rahul has not played competitive cricket since leading Lucknow Super Giants to the IPL 2022 play-offs in May. The India vice-captain underwent surgery for sports hernia in Germany after the Super Giants were knocked out in the play-offs.
Rahul was appointed as captain of the T20I team for a 5-match series against South Africa at home in June. However, he picked up an injury on the eve of the series opener in New Delhi, prompting the selectors to appoint Rishabh Pant as the stand-in captain.
Rahul also missed India’s tour of Ireland and England and was gearing up for a return in the T20Is against the West Indies.
Rahul was seen batting against India women’s cricket team fast bowler Jhulan Goswami at the NCA earlier this week. The star batter had taken to social media to share clips of his training and rehabilitation at the state-of-the-art facility in Bengaluru.
It remains to be seen if KL Rahul can recover in time and join the T20I squad in the West Indies. Notably, India will be without the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for the ODI series, starting Friday as the senior pros have been rested. Rohit will return to lead the side in T20Is.