Srinagar: These days India cricket is full of drama , with latest being BCCI deciding to reject batter KL Rahul’s request for the rest during England series as the batter has been asked to be ready for the matches.
As per reports, BCCI earlier had agreed to grant rest for KL Rahul during England series but now has backtracked on that.
“The selectors initially decided to rest Rahul, who plays in the middle order and is a wicketkeeper in the ODIs, from the entire white-ball series against England at home. However, they had a rethink and the BCCI has now asked him to play in the ODI series so that he gains some match practice ahead of the Champions Trophy in February,” the Times of India quoted a source as saying.
Rahul was among the few batters in Australia who got runs. He was the third-highest run-getter for India with 276 runs in 10 innings at an average of 30.66.
Rahul is fighting for the wicketkeeper batter’s slot in the Champions Trophy squad alongside Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson.
As per a report in Cricbuzz, the board has also sought an extension from the ICC over the Champions Trophy squad announcement. The ICC had set January 12 as the deadline for the provisional squad announcement, but it doesn’t look like the board would be able to announce the roster by then.
Several names like Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, etc. are in the running for Champions Trophy selection but absolute clarity on the topic is still missing.