 "KL Rahul Yuzvendra Chahal")
India announced the World Cup squad on Tuesday and kept K L Rahul in it, despite the wicket-keeper batter not having played even a single One Day International (ODI) game since March 2023. He cleared his last fitness test only on Tuesday, just hours ahead of the squad announcement. On the other hand, Yuzvendra Chahal, who was not part of the Asia Cup squad either, remained sidelined as Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel were the three spinners who kept their place in the Indian team.
Here's the #TeamIndia squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/EX7Njg2Tcv
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2023
A news portal, quoting Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources, revealed that the problem with Rahul did not involve batting; it was rather about hindrances in squatting while wicket-keeping.
"There has been no complaint when he bats. It's while squatting that he has been feeling the hamstring. That has gotten much better in the past week. He will join the team for the Colombo leg of the Asia Cup. The World Cup squad is likely to be announced in a day or two," The Times of India (TOI) quoted a BCCI source as saying.
More From This Section
Rahul's ODI form hadn't been great; his scoring in his last 10 innings and his last century in this format came more than two years ago in March 2021 against England in Pune.
(1/2) Reflecting on my journey in the last few months, which has been filled with challenges and lessons. The road has been humbling. A big shoutout to Nitin sir,Yogesh sir, Rajini sir, Dhananjay Bhai, Shalini and everyone at the NCA for your efforts pic.twitter.com/TKWQE3HTcR
— K L Rahul (@klrahul) September 5, 2023
Chahal remains sidelined
At the time of announcing the squad for the Asia Cup 2023, skipper Rohit Sharma had kept the door open for the likes of Chahal, saying that if need be, he could be included in Team India's squad for the World Cup. However, the bowler could not find a place as Sanju Samson was the only omission from India's 16-man squad for the Asia Cup; the remaining team has kept their place in the side.
Chahal, though never the main contender for an ODI spot, had also missed out on Team India's squad for the T20 World Cup. Since the 2019 World Cup, where he was a prominent member, the Rajasthan Royals player picked up 37 wickets in 23 ODIs that he got to play. Yet, he could not impress the selectors when it came to a choice between him and Kuldeep.
Will Rishabh Pant’s absence be felt? Who will be first-choice keeper?
Rishabh Pant has not yet fully recovered and with K L Rahul not in the best of his wicket-keeping form, will the Indian team feel the absence of the dynamic batter and keeper in Pant? Pant is also a great motivator from behind the stumps. But Ishan Kishan showed in the match against Pakistan that he could be the real replacement for Pant in the middle-order, so he might be the first-choice keeper for India, and Rahul could play as a pure number-four batter in Shreyas Iyer’s place.
India squad for the ODI World Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
