In a massive boost to the Indian cricket team, their star opener KL Rahul has been deemed fit to play for the country in the upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe. Rahul sustained an injury back in June, prior to India's series against South Africa, but was set to return for the T20I series against West Indies.
However, he tested positive and was forced to sit out the five-match series as well. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter has not featured for India at international since the end of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
"The BCCI Medical Team has assessed KL Rahul and cleared him to play in the upcoming three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has appointed him the captain of the side and named Shikhar Dhawan as his deputy," the BCCI said in its official statement on Thursday, August 11.
Earlier, PTI had reported that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper would have to pass a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in order to solidify his return. And with this latest news, it seems that the BCCI are more than happy with their assessment.
The news also comes as a blow to veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, who led the side to an ODI victory over West Indies in Rahul and Rohit Sharma's absence.
"Till the time I am playing for India, I would like to be an asset and not a liability," Dhawan said after leading India to an ODI series victory in the West Indies.
"I am a calm, matured person. The performance is a reflection of my experience," Dhawan said when he was reminded of his phenomenal numbers.
"My basics have been pretty strong and I have put in a lot of work to improve my technique. Understanding a format is also very important. I understand the dynamics of ODI format and that has helped me a lot," he added when probed further.
India T20I squad: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
