ASIA CUP 2022 LIVE – KL Rahul fitness test: KL Rahul has been included in the 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The squad was announced on Monday. There are still question marks over the fitness of Indian opener KL Rahul. Rahul will be asked to prove his fitness before he boards the team flight for the United Arab Emirates. BCCI’s team will conduct a fitness test for Rahul at the National Cricket Academy: Follow Asia Cup Cricket Updates with InsideSport.IN.
KL Rahul is out from game since playing IPL 2022. Earlier it was his groin injury and than a bout of Covid-19 which had kept the Indian vice-captain away from cricket. Rahul according to the sources in NCA has recovered but his fitness is yet to be assessed officially.
BCCI’s Physios will conduct his fitness test sometime next week.
“KL Rahul is fully fit and that is the reason he is selected in the team. But as a protocol he will undergo a fitness test in Bengaluru”, confirmed a source in BCCI.
In case KL Rahul fail his fitness test, Shreyas Iyer will board the flight to Dubai for Asia Cup.
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Why doubts over his fitness?
- KL Rahul has not played a single game post IPL
- He has been out of competitive action for around four months now
- The player underwent surgery in Germany in June
- He started training in July
- He got tested positive for Covid last month, and again resumed training
- That brings to the question of his fitness, is he 100 percent fit?
It is also important to note that the selectors have named Shreyas Iyer as one of the three standby players for the Asia Cup. If Rahul is not 100 percent fit, the Mumbaikar is set to feature in the Indian squad.
There is more than one reason for the BCCI management to look at his fitness before taking him to UAE. After his IPL 2022 stint, the player has been out of action, and has not played any competitive cricket.
🚨#TeamIndia squad for Asia Cup 2022 – Rohit Sharma (Capt ), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2022
During the period, he had become weak following his sports hernia surgery in Germany in June. Gradually, he came back to fitness, and started to train at the NCA as well. Those were good signs, but then the opener got tested positive for Covid-19 when he was coming close to full fitness.
When a person is tested positive for Covid-19, he has to stay in isolation and Rahul followed the same routine. It meant he took a backward step in his rehabilitation program too.
Though the player has improved upon his fitness, the BCCI would want to have a look at themselves before the Asia Cup.
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