KL Rahul should be made to play domestic cricket to assess his match fitness and batting form: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Former India cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan advised batter KL Rahul to play domestic matches before making his return to the international circuit. Notably, the flamboyant right-hander is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, following his surgery on his thigh after sustaining an injury.

As per reports, KL Rahul is expected to return to the national team and begin his batting practice in a few weeks’ time. Responding to the latest reports, cricketer-turned-commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan voiced his stance on the regard and stated that Rahul should play a few domestic matches so as to assess his ‘match fitness and batting form’.

He should be made to play domestic cricket to assess his match fitness and batting form. Getting back into the Indian team should not be so easy, you bat in the nets and ready for international competition

— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) June 28, 2023

“He should be made to play domestic cricket to assess his match fitness and batting form.  Getting back into the Indian team should not be so easy, you bat in the nets and ready for international competition,” tweeted Sivaramakrishnan on his official social media handle.

With the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup on the horizon, it is expected that the batter could likely mark his return prior to the two aforementioned events. Rahul sustained a thigh injury during the latter phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and was subsequently ruled of the remainder of the matches.

In addition to this, the batter was confined to the sidelines during team India’s crushing defeat against Australia in the recently concluded ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final at The Oval in London. In the meanwhile, Rahul underwent surgery in the UK and returned to Bengaluru for his extensive rehabilitation programme.

Notably, the Asia Cup is scheduled to begin on August 31 as Pakistan and Sri Lanka will host the ACC event. The ACC is yet to announce the official schedule for the event and is likely to release it in the coming weeks.

Six teams will participate in the event wherein they will be split into two groups with three teams each. The BCCI medical team is yet to hand Rahul the official green signal to make his return to the national team.