Indian stalwart KL Rahul's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season has ended after the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain suffered an injury during his team's clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 1. Rahul tried to save a boundary but pulled his hamstring in the process. He was in agonising pain and was holding his right leg.
Reports on May 3 suggested that the LSG skipper has already left his team's camp and had travelled to Mumbai for scans after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken over his case.
The scans will confirm the severity of the injuries and whether Rahul will be fit enough to play in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in London from June 7-11, but his IPL 2023 season is all but over.
His treatment is currently being monitored by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but sources close to the situation are not very optimistic about the situation.
With only four matches left in the league stages of the ongoing season, there are doubts about whether the team will bring in a replacement for the star batter. Meanwhile, he will be replaced by Krunal Pandya as the team's skipper. The elder of the Pandya brothers was already named as the stand-in skipper in Rahul's absence for the match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but was washed out on Wednesday, May 3.
His absence is sure to hurt Team India, with KL Rahul considered a starter for the team for the WTC final against Australia. And with LSG second on the points table with 11 points in 10 games with four matches to go.
He will join the likes of Jaydev Unadkat on the sidelines for both LSG and Team India. In Rahul's absence, there is a high chance that Ishan Kishan will take his place in the Indian team and could be the second wicketkeeper for the one-off Test. As mentioned above, the Unadkat situation is still unclear.
Team India is slated to leave for London for the WTC final soon after the league stage, which ends on May 21. The players who are part of the IPL play-offs will leave for England after the final on May 5.
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