Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of India, believes that it wouldn’t be a wise decision to immediately include KL Rahul in the playing XI for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Shastri’s perspective is that since Rahul has been out of action due to a thigh injury suffered during the 2023 Indian Premier League, it might not be realistic to anticipate him to perform at his best right from the start.
The squad for the Asia Cup, scheduled from August 30 to September 17 in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, has not been revealed by India yet. According to sources, the selectors aim to provide sufficient time for players like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who is in recovery from a back injury, to demonstrate their fitness at the National Cricket Academy before making a decision.
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After sustaining an injury during IPL 2023, Rahul underwent surgery. Although he has recently begun practicing batting in the nets, Shastri is somewhat uncertain about Rahul’s comeback in the playing XI for the Asia Cup. While participating in a conversation on Star Sports, Shastri expressed his thoughts.
“See when you’re talking of a player (KL Rahul) who’s not played and is recovering from injury. To think of him in the XI of the Asia Cup, you’re asking a little too much of the player himself.
“And then you’re talking keeping. When a guy comes from an injury, the range of movement and things of that sort, so that’s a no no.”
Having played 54 ODIs, Rahul has accumulated 1986 runs with an average of 45.13, including five centuries and thirteen half-centuries, while representing India. Besides the 31-year-old Rahul, there are alternative wicketkeeper-batsmen choices for India to contemplate for the Asia Cup, such as Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.