A significant Grade III hamstring injury has forced Ajinkya Rahane to withdraw from the India tour of England in June and July. The former India captain and vice-captain have already lost his spot in the India Test XI, with Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer usurping Cheteshwar Pujara’s places, but the new loss might keep him out of the touring group entirely. The Indian squad, which is anticipated to be named in a week, will depart for England on June 16.
On Monday evening, Rahane is expected to leave the Kolkata Knight Riders. He got injured during KKR’s previous game, on May 14, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and was not seen fielding throughout the game at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. He will report to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where he may need more than four weeks of rehabilitation, according to sources inside the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Rahane has 133 runs in seven games in IPL, which isn’t exactly what he was hoping for.
Seniors Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravindra Jadeja, according to Cricbuzz, will be sent to England, while a team made up of some experienced and some young faces will be prepared for the South Africa home series, which starts on June 9.
Meanwhile, the IPL 2022’s top players may be called up to the Indian side for the Proteas series. Shikhar Dhawan is expected to return as captain, while Tilak Varma, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, and Avesh Khan, among others, might be given the chance to represent the country in the international arena. Both Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are anticipated to return to the national team.
The fitness of Suryakumar Yadav will be assessed before the selection meeting, which will be held in person rather than over a virtual conference call, according to the article. Furthermore, the coaching staff will have to divide and conquer responsibilities, and head coach Rahul Dravid’s clearance is pending.
While the senior players will be focused on the England visit, the South Africa series squad is expected to go to Dublin for a two-match T20I series against Ireland on June 26 and 28. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is in negotiations to host a warm-up match prior to the start of the rescheduled Test in Birmingham from July 1 to 5.
Ajinkya Rahane, meanwhile, is expected to miss the England tour due to a Grade III hamstring injury. The injury occurred while Rahane was playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has apparently been ruled out of the rest of the IPL, making his presence in the squad questionable.
