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Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has reportedly opted to sit out from the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts, which are scheduled to commence from Thursday, January 9. The Indian batter has opted to take a break following India’s 1-3 series defeat in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Notably, KL Rahul played all five Tests down under during Australia tour. He was quite exceptional with bat in the early part of the BGT, showcasing a sound defensive technique to frustrate the Australian bowlers, and ultimately, he scored 276 runs in 10 innings at an average of 30.66 with two fifties.
Karnataka name 16-member squad; Prasidh Krishna and Devdutt Padikkal included
Despite former Indian cricketers, including the likes of coach Gautam Gambhir, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar emphasising on the need to play domestic cricket, KL Rahul has opted out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy knokouts in order to recover and recharge. However, a call on Rahul’s availability for the second leg of Ranji Trophy, which starts from January 23 will be taken at a later stage.
While Karnataka will miss the services of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal will lead the side with Shreyas Gopal serving as his deputy. The side has also included Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna, both of whom played a match each in the BGT 2024-25. While Padikkal played the first Test in Perth, Prasidh Krishna was named in the side after Akash Deep was ruled out due to back issues.
Speaking of Karnataka’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, they will face Baroda in the quarterfinal on Saturday, January 11. The Mayank Agarwal-led side finished at the top of the Group C standings with six wins from seven matches, bagging 24 points.
Karnataka squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts
Mayank Agarwal (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Nikin Jose, K.V. Aneesh, R. Smaran, K.L. Shrijith, Abhinav Manohar, Shreyas Gopal (vc), Hardik Raj, Prasidh Krishna, V. Koushik, Vidyadhar Patil, Abhilash Shetty, Pravin Dubey, Luvnith Sisodia, Yashovardhan Parantap.
