Follow UsIndian management had crossed their fingers, hoping for KL Rahul to be fit ahead of the Asia Cup opener. However, the right-handed wicket-keeper batter hasn’t recovered enough to take the field for India’s group-stage games against Nepal and Pakistan.
Rahul will stay back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and will only be assessed on September 4, ahead of the Super four stage of the competition. Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has confirmed the same, insisting that Rahul has ‘progressed’ really well, and is on the optimal path of recovery.
"He's had a really good week with us," head coach Rahul Dravid said. "Really done well, done a lot of things. He's progressing really well on the route that we want to take.
"But he will be unavailable for the first part [of the Asia Cup], for the Kandy leg of the trip. The NCA will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling.
However, he also quickly confirmed that Rahul won’t be part of the Indian setup for the first two fixtures. In Rahul’s absence, India have no choice but to play Ishan Kishan in the middle-order, with the left-hander having shown his prowess in the middle-overs, averaging 43.18 and striking at 121.8 in the middle-overs.
"We will reassess on 4 September and take it from there. But the signs are looking good and he's progressing really well. He will be unavailable for the first two games."
Rahul's late return forces India to change their plans. On the positive front, India are set to welcome back Shreyas Iyer to the fold after nearly five months. Dravid insisted that India's worry with No.4 only began with the injuries to Iyer, Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Pant is unlikely to be part of the upcoming ODI World Cup squad, with the left-hander still recovering.
"This word experimentation keeps getting thrown around a lot, without actually being thought through. We are not experimenting for the sake of experimenting. Sometimes there are specific reasons why you have to experiment. Just to give you an example - the No. 4 and 5 spots got discussed a lot," Dravid said.
"There is an impression that we do not have clarity on who is going to be there. I could have told you 18 months ago who is going to play at No. 4 and 5 slots. It was always going to be between KL, Shreyas and Rishabh. There was no doubt in our minds," he added.
"All of them had injuries close to each other and what were the odds of that happening? Nobody can calculate for that. All three of them were pushing for that spot had to go under the knife and all three of them had serious injuries," Dravid said.
On Iyer, who also returned from a long-term injury, the Indian head coach insisted that it is now about 'game-time' for the right-hander, and hopes for him to come good during the tournament.
"He has looked good. He has had no issues. It's pretty straightforward - he has come and he has played. It's now just about us giving him some game time. One of the things he has missed is games and matches. It's something we can give him in Asia Cup and build him up for the World Cup.
"In terms of fitness, everything he has done well in the camp - he has batted, fielded well, ticked all the boxes. Except of course the game time. He has played some practice games, but that's not like the real thing like international cricket. Fortunately, we've got some game now with Asia Cup and a few games with Australia to top that up and give him the opportunity to tick that box as well," felt Dravid.