KL Rahul has got his fitness clearance from the National Cricket Academy. He will join the Lucknow Super Giants camp on March 20, it is learnt. Sources informed that it will be Rahul’s decision as regards to whether he will do wicketkeeping or not. Although the batsman will be available from the start of the IPL, he might not don the big gloves in the first few matches. LSG play their first game on March 24, against Rajasthan Royals.
“Yes, Rahul has been declared fit and he will join us on March 20,” an LSG official told RevSportz. He added: “He (Rahul) is the captain of the team and he will decide whether he will ’keep or not.” Even if Rahul doesn’t keep, LSG have two capable options in Quinton de Kock and Nicholas Pooran.
Rahul had suffered a right quadriceps injury during the first Test against England in Hyderabad in January. He subsequently missed the remainder of the five-Test series. He went to London to consult a specialist and returned to the NCA for rehab. There was a question mark over his participation in the initial stages of the IPL, but he has now received all clear.
Rahul posted a short video of his training at the NCA on his Instagram handle two days ago, where he was seen batting, wicketkeeping and out-fielding. The IPL is going to be very important for the 31-year-old in terms of staking a claim for the T20 World Cup selection. Rahul is not an automatic pick in the Indian T20I squad and he needs to do both batting and ’keeping to be considered as a ’keeper-batsman for the ICC event that will follow the IPL.
Last year, he had suffered a serious quadriceps injury during LSG’s game against Royal Challengers Bangalore and missed the rest of the IPL as well as the World Test Championship final.