KL Rahul back on the field after recovering from viral fever

Indian opener, KL Rahul was back in the nets ahead of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo. The 25-year old batsman had been struck down by a bout of viral fever and had to miss the first Test, owing to his ailment. However, the Indian coach and captain still haven’t confirmed if the batsman will be included in the playing squad for the upcoming match, set to begin on Thursday.

In recent times, Rahul has emerged as a bankable opener for Team India, having accrued 1200 runs in the 17 Tests he’s played for the nation, with the highest score of 199 runs. Further, in June 2016 against Zimbabwe, the stylish right-handed batsman became the first batsman from his country to score a century on debut in 50 overs cricket. The Karnataka batsman has been prolific with his batting and also comes in handy as a reserve wicketkeeper.

Uncertainty over Rahul’s inclusion in the playing XI

Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri chose to keep mum about Rahul’s come back into the side in the second Test against Sri Lanka. Talking about the batsman’s fitness, during media interaction ahead of the upcoming Test Shastri said, “Rahul is (doing) good. We are watching him closely. He went through some tough times and he was in the hospital for 2-3 days. Obviously, it has taken a lot out of him. So we have to be very careful how we treat him, we are watching him very closely and he is getting better by the day.”

Previously, skipper Virat Kohli had commented on the dilemma of having a good bench strength and called it a “good headache to have”. Shastri spoke in the same strain on the topic and said, “When I have good bench strength, it is very good. When there is competition for places even better because that’s healthy competition and a good headache to have. Where you know if someone is injured someone else is ready and that is across all formats. It is very good but ideally you want your core team to be fit and on the park as often as possible.”