KL Rahul down with fever; stays back in Colombo

What’s the story?

India has been dealt a worrying blow as their opening batsman KL Rahul has not travelled with the Indian team to Galle from Colombo since he is down with a bout of fever.

Rahul had a high fever on Sunday and stayed back in Colombo. In what can be some positive news for the Indian camp, all the tests have come out to be negative.

Although the Karnataka-boy will travel to Galle on Monday morning, his participation in the first Test match depends on how quickly he regains his fitness and strength after this fever.

The Details

After having made a comeback into the Indian team, KL Rahul scored a fluent half century in the warm up match against the Sri Lanka's board president's XI.

If he is fit, he will be India's first choice opener ahead of Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan.

Rahul was one of the most prolific batsmen in the Indian team in the home season where he scored six half-centuries in seven Test innings against Australia.

In case you didn’t know...

The 25-year-old is making his comeback into International cricket after he was sidelined from all forms of the game while he was recovering from a left shoulder surgery.

He was one of the leading scorers in India's last series to Sri Lanka where he scored a century and cemented his spot in the Indian team.

What's next?

Virat Kohli has always backed KL Rahul and has always advocated for his position in the side and hence this uncertainty around his availability for the first Test is sure to impact the combination of the team.

India play the first Test match against Sri Lanka on July 26 at Galle. The Indian batting lineup got a good workout in the practice match as several batsmen including Kohli looked in good touch.

Author's Take

Rahul had spoken about his recovery and hoped for an injury-free season after undergoing some intense and 'boring' rehab.

However, this bout of fever is posing headaches for both Rahul and the Indian team and everyone would hope for a speedy recovery for the plucky opener.