After a long tour to Australia, KL Rahul has decided to take a break. He has opted out of the upcoming ODI series against England and has requested a break.
The Karnataka batter was in Australia for more than two months. He flew earlier than the rest of the Indian team as he took part in the second unofficial game between India ‘A’ and Australia ‘A’ at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the first week of November.
He then featured in each of the five Test matches and was very impressive in the first three Tests before his performances tailed away towards the end of the series. Rahul opened the batting and amassed 276 runs at an average of 30.66. He was one of the shining lights with the bat for India.
Prior to that, he three Tests at home (two against Bangladesh and one against New Zealand), batting at No. 6 before he was left out of the last two games against New Zealand. He had registered scores of 16, 22 not out, 68, 0 and 12 across those three Tests.
Hence, after a hectic season, Rahul has sought a break to recharge both mentally and physically. He is also unavailable for the knockout stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and will not join the Karnataka squad.
The 32-year-old has reportedly informed Ajit Agarkar and co about his unavailability for the England series at home. However, he will be available for selection for the ICC Champions Trophy which kicks off on the 19th of February.
“He has sought a break for the England series, but he will be available for selection for the Champions Trophy,” a BCCI source was quoted saying to PTI.
Rahul has been India’s incumbent wicket-keeper in ODI cricket. Though he didn’t have a great series against Sri Lanka in August last year, he was magnificent in the 2023 World Cup where he racked up 452 runs at an average of 75.33. In fact, his ODI numbers in 2023 are superb – 1060 runs while averaging 66.25.
Pant, Samson to compete for second wicket-keeper’s spot
With Rahul unavailable for the three ODIs against England, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson will get the opportunity to push their case as the backup (second) wicket-keeping option for the Champions Trophy. Pant has played only one 50-over game since his return from the long injury layoff. He blew hot and cold in the T20I format as well, scoring 222 runs in 10 innings at a strike-rate of 131.36 in 2024.
Meanwhile, Samson has set the stage on fire in the shortest format. He smashed three hundreds in his last five T20Is. In 2024, he scored 436 runs in 12 innings while striking at 180.16. His last ODI came back in December 2023 against South Africa at Paarl and he struck a match-winning ton at No. 3.
