India batter KL Rahul hasn't been included in the squad for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, slated to be held later this month.
Rahul's hamstring issue has reappeared, according to a report. He was the front-runner to captain the team for the series, but the injury eliminated him from consideration.
Team selection for the Asia Cup 2022 is likely to happen in the next 10 days and Rahul will be keen to recover before that. Ahead of the squad announcement, the right-hander will undergo a fitness test, according to Insidesport.
As per the report, a fitness test for the flamboyant batter would be conducted in the coming week. He will be selected automatically for the T20 World Cup should he pass the test. Rahul's comeback has not been scheduled, according to PTI.
"KL Rahul has recovered from COVID-19 but his hamstring injury seems to have resurfaced. He was supposed to be picked for Zimbabwe but now one can't put a date on his comeback," a senior BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
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Since the IPL 2022, Rahul has not played competitive cricket. He was compelled to miss the home T20I series against South Africa following the IPL 2022. In the series, he was slated to make his T20I captaincy debut. He was also named the vice-captain for the entire UK tour, however, he had to skip the series.
In the ongoing five-match T20I series against West Indies, he was supposed to make his comeback. He was unable to travel to the West Indies after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Men in Blue during the upcoming Zimbabwe tour.
India Squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
(INSIDESPORT AND PTI INPUTS)