Watch: KL Rahul takes Yash Dayal and others to cleaners during net session ahead of Sri Lanka series

India star KL Rahul will finally make his much-awaited return to competitive cricket next month when the Men in Blue take on Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series.

Before the ODIs, India and Sri Lanka will also play a 3-match T20I series. However, the right-handed batsman is not a part of the T20I squad and will have to wait a bit longer to return to action for Team India. KL Rahul has not played a competitive game since May this year. His last appearance came in IPL 2024 where he plied his trade for Lucknow Super Giants.

He was in contention for a place in India's squad for the T20 World Cup last month but failed to make the cut as the selectors picked Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as wicketkeepers ahead of him. KL Rahul will definitely have a point to prove in the upcoming series as he will be looking to hit the ground running.

And ahead of the series, the Karnataka star was seen sweating it out in the nets at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru (NCA). He himself shared the video in which he could be seen taking the bowlers to the cleaners. He played a brilliant pull shot against Yash Dayal before a stunning straight drive off another pacer.

Watch as KL Rahul plays aggressive shots during training:

🏏 pic.twitter.com/kLpH4LFIyU

— K L Rahul (@klrahul) July 24, 2024

Apart from losing his place in the Indian T20I team, KL Rahul also failed to secure the vice-captaincy of the Indian ODI team. After leading India in the ODI series against South Africa last year, he would have fancied his chances of being named as the vice-captain of the team for the upcoming series.

However, the selectors and the team management decided to give the responsibility to Shubman Gill in both the white-ball formats. KL Rahul still remains an integral member of the ODI team though. He had performed well in the ODI World Cup last year and would be hoping that he gets the nod ahead of Pant in the playing eleven.

Meanwhile, the upcoming series will also mark his reunion with head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rahul and Gambhir worked together for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and 2023. While Rahul was the captain of the team, Gambhir was the mentor. Earlier this year, Gambhir parted ways with LSG to join Kolkata Knight Riders.