Star batter KL Rahul was added to India’s squad for the ODI series in Zimbabwe in the eleventh hour after he cleared the mandatory fitness test. Rahul was sent to Zimbabwe, keeping in mind the lack of match practice for the Karnataka batter ahead of Asia Cup 2022, starting August 27.
Rahul was named captain for the Zimbabwe ODIs as he replaced Shikhar Dhawan, who was initially set to lead the second-string side. Notably, Rahul was also picked in India’s Asia Cup squad as vice-captain despite him not having played any T20Is this year.
Rahul returned to competitive action for the first time since leading Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs in IPL 2022. The star batter missed the home T20I series against South Africa after he was named captain as he underwent surgery for sports hernia. Rahul was slated for a comeback during India’s tour of West Indies in July but he contracted Covid-19 ahead of India’s departure to the Caribbean.
It was expected that KL Rahul would get game time in the middle in the ODI series opener against Zimbabwe after vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan pointed out that the 3-match series will be useful for the skipper ahead of the Asia Cup.
Taking to social media, former India fast bowler Dodda Ganesh said Rahul should have opened in order to get game time ahead of the Asia Cup.
“Ideally, KL Rahul should have opened the innings just to get some game time. He is bereft of batting in match conditions for a while,” Ganesh wrote on Twitter.
