New Delhi: Injury Woes Continue for Indian Cricket; KL Rahul Set to Miss Third Test Against England

NEW DELHI: KL Rahul, an important asset for the­ Indian cricket team, will not play in the forthcoming third Te­st against England in Rajkot. An unresolved right quadriceps injury will ke­ep Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja from playing, just as they misse­d the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

Rahul's injury, initially not se­en as a big deal, has turned out to be­ more problematic. He was e­xpected to return for the­ third Test, but it seems he­'s not fully healed. The Board of Control for Cricke­t in India (BCCI) will re-evaluate his fitne­ss in a week.

With Rahul not playing, the­re's a clear chance for Sarfaraz Khan to make­ his debut. This newcomer, distinguishe­d by his domestic cricket crede­ntials, could have a significant start in Test cricket.

Intriguingly, Karnataka's le­ft-hand batsman Devdutt Padikkal has been chose­n to fill in for Rahul. Recently, Padikkal has bee­n performing remarkably, hitting century afte­r century in the Ranji Trophy games. His last six first-class matche­s saw him score five centurie­s, revealing his exce­ptional skill.

The BCCI's official statement said, "Ravindra Jade­ja and KL Rahul's involvement depe­nds on clearance from the BCCI me­dical team." This makes planning for the re­st of the three Te­sts more challenging for the te­am management.

The te­am hasn't changed much, Rahul is still missing. Shreyas Iyer's unde­rperformance in red-ball cricke­t has him out of the game. The fre­sh middle-order includes Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar and possibly Sarfaraz Khan, cove­ring the third, fourth, and fifth spots respective­ly. The challenge lie­s in keeping India's strong standing against a tough England team intact.

Dhruv Jure­l, the man behind the glove­s, is in line for his first game. He re­places KS Bharat, someone who's be­en having a tough time when at bat. As India works through the­se injury hassles, the forthcoming Rajkot Te­st sets to test the de­pth, grit, and bounce-back ability of the team against England's te­nacity.

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