KL Rahul’s injury during the IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants has left India in a spot of bother ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. While the extent of the injury is yet to be ascertained, it is confirmed that he will not feature in the remaining IPL matches. This raises questions about his participation in the upcoming WTC final against Australia. Reports suggest that Mayank Agarwal may replace KL Rahul in the WTC final if he fails to regain fitness.
KL Rahul has been one of the most consistent performers for India in Test cricket in recent times, especially in England. In the last Test series against England, Rahul was the third-highest run-scorer with 315 runs to his name. Thus, his absence will be felt in the Indian squad in the all-important WTC final. However, if he doesn’t recover in time for the WTC final, the selectors are considering Mayank Agarwal as his replacement. His recent form and experience could make him a suitable replacement for Rahul.
Mayank Agarwal last played a Test for India in March 2022 against Sri Lanka. Since then, he was not picked in the squad for the next three series against England, Bangladesh, and Australia. However, he has been in sublime form in domestic cricket, finishing as the highest run-scorer of the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 with 990 runs to his name at an average of 82.50, scoring three hundreds and six fifties in the process.
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Agarwal has the experience of playing in 21 Tests and can prove to be a good fit for India in the middle or top order in Rahul’s absence. He has faced the Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc during his debut series in Australia in 2018, scoring two 70+ scores in two games. Therefore, his experience and ability to counter a formidable pace unit could come in handy in the big game against Australia.
India will face Australia in the WTC Final 2023 at the Oval on June 7. The first batch of players, including head coach Rahul Dravid and support staff, will leave for London on May 23. Players who are out of the IPL playoff race will join them, while the rest of the players will join the team after the IPL final on May 28.
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The injury concerns are a setback for India, but the team has a wealth of talented players to choose from, and Mayank Agarwal could be the right fit to replace KL Rahul. It remains to be seen whether Rahul will recover in time for the WTC final, but Agarwal’s form and experience make him a strong contender for a place in the Indian squad.
India’s Test Squad for WTC Final: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
