KL Rahul will not play in the Rajkot Test; Devdutt Padikkal will start in his place.

The decision to exclude veteran batsman KL Rahul from the third Test match between India and England, which gets underway in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15, is a severe setback for the Indian team.

Rahul was forced to skip the second Test in Vizag due to the right quadriceps soreness he sustained during the first Test in Hyderabad. “The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Saturday, February 10, while announcing the lineup for the final three Tests of the five-match series.

The BCCI medical panel did not find the Karnataka batter to be totally healthy, according to a press release from the BCCI. His fitness will be evaluated, and after another week, the medical team may decide whether to allow him to return.

Rahul remains a student at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy (NCA). The management of the squad hopes to have him available for the fourth Test, even though he hasn’t traveled to Rajkot with the Indian team.

KL Rahul’s replacement is Devdutt Padikkal.

In the third Test, Devdutt Padikkal, a fellow Karnataka batsman, has been selected to replace Rahul. The call-up to the national squad is a reward for the southpaw’s outstanding play in the current Ranji Trophy 2024.

Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, watched from the stands when Paddikal struck 151 against Tamil Nadu in his most recent Ranji Trophy encounter.

In the current season of the biggest domestic red-ball event in India, the gifted young player has collected 556 runs from six innings. His average is an astounding 92.67. In addition, Padikkal scored hundreds against Goa and Punjab. Additionally, he scored 21, 65, and 105 for India A in his three innings during the two unofficial Test matches against the England Lions.

There are three games remaining in the Test series, which is intriguingly tied at one. The third Test will be extremely important because no team wants to behind at this point.