‘Red ball ke liye nazook hai sab’ – Fans enraged as KL Rahul gets ruled out of 3rd Test vs England

Team India’s preparations for the 3^rd Test match have hit a huge snag. KL Rahul has been ruled out of the third Test match on Monday. Young Devdutt Padikkal has been named as his replacement in the team.

On Saturday, the Indian selectors had named KL Rahul along with Ravindra Jadeja in the team. One of the biggest question marks was regarding the fitness of both players. While Jadeja has come outfit, it is Rahul who has struggled.

Indian cricket’s medical team has found the 31-year-old unfit hence the decision to rule him out. Since last year KL Rahul has been having extreme fitness issues and the latest quadriceps injury just adds more misery.

Devdutt Padikkal links up with the Indian team –

Young Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal has been called up to replace the injured KL Rahul. The 23-year-old left-handed batter has been in good form with the bat in the domestic format.

After playing just 2 T20I games for India in 2021, young Padikkal lost his place in the team. After years of struggle, the left-handed batter has found his form once again. With 1054 runs from 13 innings, Devdutt Padikkal has caught the fancy of the selectors.

Five centuries including a majestic 193 vs Punjab as well as three half-centuries have seen Padikkal get his call up. It is widely expected that Sarfaraz Khan will make his India debut. Padikkal will be happy with this call after he has set the domestic scene on fire.

Speaking to the media after scoring a century against Tamil Nadu this is what Padikkal said “I don’t mind batting at No.3 and I don’t mind opening either. So that doesn’t make a huge difference. As you play more and more cricket and as you gain experience, at this level you will naturally be able to play more shots because you will be more confident about your areas”

Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer are already out of the series. The former Indian skipper is still away with his family and is addressing his issues. Shreyas Iyer has complained of fitness issues amid reports of the Test future being uncertain.

Here’s how the fans reacted –