‘Unfit player ko squad mai rakhe hai?’ – Fans react as India head coach confirms KL Rahul won’t play initial matches of Asia Cup 2023

India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday, August 29, confirmed that wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul will not be available for selection for the first two matches of the 2023 Asia Cup. The continental event will kick off on August 30 with Pakistan clashing against Nepal in Multan. Meanwhile, India will open their campaign with a blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in Kandy on September 2.

Rahul has been out of action for several months after sustaining an injury during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he came out of trouble after surgery and rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The latest update from the head coach comes even as the right-hander was recently spotted batting and keeping during Team India’s ongoing five-day camp in Alur.

Speaking at a press conference a day before the Asia Cup 2023 opener, Dravid said Rahul is progressing well but would not be available for the first two matches against Pakistan and Nepal. The Karnataka-born cricketer is understood to have suffered a slight niggle while training at the NCA.

“KL Rahul is progressing really well but will not be available for India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and Nepal – of the Asia Cup Head Coach Rahul Dravid,” The Indian Cricket Board tweeted quoting head coach Dravid.

“The NCA will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling. We will reassess on the 4th (September) and take it from there. But signs are looking good. He will be unavailable for the first two games,” the former India cricketer said after the final day of India’s training camp at Alur.

Who will get the lot? Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson?

Recent developments mean that India are without their first-choice wicket-keeper batter, and they now have to pick either Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson. Kishan was included in India’s 17-man squad while Sanju was selected as the travelling reserve. Not sure who will get the nod, but Samson has a slight edge over Kishan as the latter is likely to be considered a top-order batter.

India Squad for Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson

Here’s how fans reacted to Rahul Dravid confirming KL Rahul’s absence from the first two matches of 2023 Asia Cup:

https://twitter.com/web2rug/status/1696431059200839990