Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul Dominated Out For First Two Video games, Confirms Rahul Dravid | Cricket Information

India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has been ruled out of the first two matches of the upcoming Asia Cup, which will kick-start from Wednesday in Multan. India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday announced that the 31-year-old batter, who was named in the squad after recovering from his injury, will not be available for the first two matches against Pakistan and Nepal. Earlier during the squad announcement, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had  told the media that Rahul was suffering from a slight niggle.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), BCCI wrote, “KL Rahul is progressing really well but will not be available for India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and Nepal – of the #AsiaCup2023: Head Coach Rahul Dravid.

UPDATE

KL Rahul is progressing really well but will not be available for India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and Nepal – of the #AsiaCup2023: Head Coach Rahul Dravid#TeamIndia

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 29, 2023

The call-up for the continental tournament was a big deal for the batter after a prolonged battle with injury but the update along with the inclusion of Sanju Samson as a back-up did not alleviate the fears.

Earlier on Saturday, Rahul did wicket-keeping practice where he was helped by skipper Rohit Sharma at the ongoing practice camp in Alur, Karnataka.

He also did some batting practice as he was paired with Suryakumar Yadav at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots respectively in a match simulation.

India went for fixed pairings in the practice with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill followed by Virat Kohli and the returning Shreyas Iyer at No. 4.

The first match of Asia Cup will be played between co-hosts Pakistan and Nepal in Multan on Wednesday. Team India will be opening their campaign against the arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy.