Keen to play IPL 2024, KL Rahul flies back to London with an eye on T20 World Cup selection

India’s middle order batsman KL Rahul who sustained a recurring quadricep injury in the 1st Test against England, has undergone a successful treatment in London. The right-hand batsman is well on course to gain full fitness in time before the 2024 edition of IPL starts. Rahul will be captaining the Lucknow Super Giants for the 3rd season running and aim for a solid performance after missing half of the tournament last year.

KL Rahul dealt with the same quadriceps injury last year for which he also had surgery in the summer of 2023. He remained on the sidelines for several months before making a blockbuster return through the 50-over Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

How have the recent months been for KL Rahul?

The 31-year-old who has been a key member of the Indian team across all formats, has made consistent contribution for the team in the recent past. During the Asia Cup 2023, Rahul returned with a bang when he smacked 111* not out against Pakistan in the group stages and eventually ended up with 169 runs from just 3 innings.

Then during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, KL Rahul continued to impress with his batting. He scored an unbeaten 97 against Australia in the 1st group stage match, then a century against Netherlands and another 50+ score in the final. He eventually finished as the 8th highest run getter of the World Cup with 452 runs from 10 innings. Rahul was also India’s 4th best batter in terms of stats after Virat Kohli (765), Rohit Sharma (597) and Shreyas Iyer (530).

He was given a break after the World Cup ended in order to keep him fit and fine for the all-format tour of South Africa. Rahul captained the ODI team in the absence of Hardik Pandya due to injury while Surya Kumar Yadav had taken care of T20I captaincy.

KL Rahul clinched the 3-match ODI series by 2-1 at the Boland Park in Paarl to become just the 2nd captain since Virat Kohli to register an ODI series in South Africa. Later on during the 2-match Test series, Rahul had scored a very good 101 runs in 1st Test’s 1st innings in Centurion at a time when most of his team mates had succumbed to the Proteas bowling.

He followed the century with low scores of 4 and 8 as India after losing the Centurion Test, claimed the Cape Town Test match to return home with a 1-1 series draw. And in January this year, Rahul had scored 86 and 22 in the 1st Test against England in Hyderabad, the same match where his quadriceps injury recurred.

Rahul starts rehabilitation at NCA

According to a report from Times Of India, KL Rahul returned from London with a satisfactory treatment from a top medial expert. The 32-year-old has in fact started his rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and he will be issued a “Return to Play” certificate from NCA soon.

“He had consulted top medial experts in London. He returned to India on Sunday and has checked into the BCCI’s NCA in Bangalore for rehab. He should get the Return to Play certificate from the NCA soon. He is keen to prove his wroth in the IPL as he’s in line for selection in India’s T20 World Cup team as a keeper-bat.” – an official source told TOI.