Indian batsman KL Rahul, who had fixed a spot in the Indian team as an opener has been forced to skip the Ranji Trophy tie against Assam as the wicketkeeper-batsman is still recovering from the injury which he suffered during the first Test match between India and New Zealand at Kanpur. It was the first time when KL Rahul was chosen as a frontline option from the first match of the series itself but an injury to him snubbed him a chance to carry on with that spot.
His replacement, Shikhar Dhawan, also injured himself during the second Test match and finally it was Gautam Game who was given a chance who made most out of it by scoring a half-century in the third Test match. An injury to KL Rahul has not just raised a problem for him, but also for the selectors as in case KL Rahul fit for before the selection of England Test series, then there will be confusion over whom to choose, KL Rahul or Gautam Gambhir. Karun Nair will also add to the headache of selectors as he has presented his case by scoring a half-century in the third round of Ranji Trophy against Delhi team led by Gautam Gambhir. Nair led his team and crushed the Delhi side by a margin of an innings. On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir could just score 4 runs in that game.
An injury to Rahul has now opened the doors for 3 openers and now it is not sure that whether selectors will choose KL Rahul or not. If selected, his form in Test matches will decide his future in One day format as well as the opening pair of Ajinkya Rahana and Rohit Sharma has not been able to provide a good start to the team in any of the ODI matches against New Zealand. Surely, he needs to get fit in time to solve this tangled equation or else he might see his place being taken by Karun Nair, Gautam Gambhir or even Shikhar Dhawan.
Currently, he is undergoing a rehabilitation camp at N.C.A. in Bangalore and there are chances that he will be fit before the England Test series.