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Team India physio offered clarity on batter KL Rahul's status for the first Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth, saying that the veteran is "ready to go" despite being hit on his elbow during intra-squad match simulation session at Perth's WACA ground.
On Friday, Rahul walked off the field after suffering an elbow blow during India's intra-squad match simulation and did not feature in any further training on remainder of the day and the next day. He returned to action on the field on Sunday. Rahul is expected to open the innings in the Perth Test if Rohit Sharma is unavailable, as he with his wife Ritika had their second child on Friday. The incident occurred when Rahul was struck on his right elbow by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna in the WACA stadium. Despite initial attempts to continue batting after receiving medical attention, Rahul had to leave the field for 29 and did not return to bat further. He came back to action on Sunday, giving Indian side a much needed cheer amid news of Shubman Gill likely missing the Perth Test due to a thumb injury. Rahul put in some solid work in nets on Sunday, in a training session of nearly three hours. After two days of match simulation, which featured India's main XI against a line-up comprising of fringe and India A players, some squad players trained on WACA ground's centre wicket and nets. Rahul spent an hour on nets before a short workout in the nets. There were no signs of discomfort as far as he was concerned, but he did not look as fluent as he looked before the elbow hit while opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal. On Sunday, the BCCI provided an update on Rahul's fitness through a video posted on their X handle. https://x.com/BCCI/status/1858098319656194533 BCCI physio Kamlesh Jain stated, "The key for us is to make sure there is no fracture or bony lesions in there. 48 hours since the impact and he's responded well to treatments. He should be ready to go." Yogesh Parmar, another Team India physio, added, "I took him for the X-ray and scan and based upon the reporting, I was confident that he should be fine. It was just a matter of controlling the pain and giving him some confidence. So, from a medical point of view, he is absolutely fine." With these reassurances from the medical staff, it appears that Rahul should be fit to play the first Test against Australia in Perth. The much anticipated Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth. The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium's lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18. The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage. The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest. India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant (Wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. (ANI)
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