KL Rahul's Ranji Trophy participation confirmed, set to play for Karnataka against....
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India's veteran cricketer KL Rahul is all set to mark his return to Ranji Trophy after almost a decade. Rahul will feature in Karnataka's next Ranji match against Haryana which is scheduled to begin on January 30, according to TOI.
Rahul was earlier due to be playing Karnataka's match against Punjab but he pulled out of the match due to an elbow injury. However, he has confirmed his availability for the next match against Haryana which will also be his last domestic match before the Champions Trophy.
KL Rahul is back to play Ranji Trophy for Karnataka
Seasoned India batter KL Rahul set to play for karnataka in the next Ranji Trophy match from Jan 30 #ranjitrophy2025
— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) January 25, 2025
Rahul's previous Ranji match was in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh when he slammed a triple-hundred and also emerged as the Player of the Match. He registered scores of 337 and 43 across both the innings of the match.
Rahul's return will boost Karnataka's chances of making it to the next round of the Ranji Trophy. It will also be their last match of the group stage before the important knockouts get underway.
Karnataka are currently on the second spot in the points table with 19 points in six matches. They have two outright wins in six matches so far and are behind Haryana who are at the top with 20 points to their name.
Karnataka will be high on confidence after a thumping win over Punjab recently. Despite a hundred from Shubman Gill, they thumped Punjab by a big margin of an innings and 207 runs. The win has boosted their chances of making it to the knockouts and they will be aiming to go there with confidence.
KL Rahul in BGT 2024-25
KL Rahul was in India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he played as an opener. Rahul started the series well but failed to give consistent performances throughout the series
India's captain Rohit Sharma gave up the opening position to accommodate Rahul at the top. However, he failed to get a significant score in the last two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney. Overall, he scored 276 runs in five Tests at an average of 30.66 with 2 fifties.
KL Rahul in India's squad for Champions Trophy
Meanwhile, KL Rahul is also a part of India's squad for the ODI series against England which is scheduled to begin from February 6. The series will be important for the Champions Trophy 2025 as the players will look to prepare for the marquee tournament.
There were doubts over Rahul's inclusion in the ODI squad but the selectors have decided to trust his wicketkeeping and middle-order batting skills. Rahul is likely to be India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the tournament with Rishabh Pant the second wicketkeeper in the team.
Rahul has a fantastic ODI record as he has scored 2851 runs in 77 matches at a brilliant average of 49.15 and a strike rate of 87.56. Over the last few years, he has changed his role to a middle-order batter and has made the spot his own.
