KL Rahul unavailable for the 4th round of Ranji Trophy

Life is cruel. KL Rahul is finding it the hard way. The Karnataka batsman has had a breakthrough year, starting from his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore and then continuing his glorious form to the Zimbabwe and the West Indies series respectively. However, just when the opening batsman was about to cement his place in the Indian lineup in style, an unfortunate hamstring injury set him back.

Currently, Rahul is going through rehabilitation period and is yet to go through the fitness tests. According to the Karnataka Cricket Association. While, the fourth round of Ranji Trophy, starting on Thursday, was set to be an opportunity for all the players to gain some match fitness before the England series starting from November 9, KL Rahul is all set to miss the Karnataka’s game against Assam, adding further misery to his promising career.

While, Wriddhiman Saha will be turning up for Bengal for their clash against Railways, the likes of Vijay, Ashwin and Jadeja are in for a short NCA stint to prepare for the upcoming series.

Vijay Shankar is back

Tamil Nadu’s star player, Vijay Shankar is set to make a comeback in to the cricketing fold after a 9-month injury layoff.  After suffering an unfortunate knee injury in July before India A’s tour of Australia, the all-rounder had to undergo a surgery which has kept him out of the game for a long time. Now, after a 2 months rehabilitation program, the 25-year-old will be back for the clash against Madhya Pradesh in Cuttack. Tamil Nadu desperately requires his services right now.

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Rishabh Pant warned

The Delhi star Rishabh Pant announced his arrival in the IPL with a string of big scores after an impressive Under-19 outing. However, the Ranji Trophy was always going to be the toughest test so far and Rishabh again announced his arrival with style and aplomb with a triple century.

However, Pant failed to deliver on the green top against Karnataka, gifting away his wickets in both the innings which prompted the Delhi coach to temper his game, “You can’t play the same pattern in every pitch. Sometimes, there will be a pitch which is holding on, there’s a green top, so the shot selection becomes very important,” he said. “That’s the hallmark of a good player. You can’t just play in the same pattern and the same gear, you can’t do that. Sometimes, the situation demands where you need to be a little choosy. As I said, he is a stroke player, that’s the way he plays. Sometimes you connect, and law of averages had to catch up with him.”