KL Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain, has got clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to play in the IPL 2024. The reports further state d that KL Rahul has been told to avoid squatting in the initial stages, which would mean that he will play as a pure batter for LSG in the first few IPL matches.
During the first Test for India against England in Hyderabad nearly two months ago, KL Rahul suffered a quadriceps strain, and since then, he hasn't played a professional cricket match. As per the Times of India, there were initial expectations of him rejoining the Indian cricket team from the third Test match onwards, but he experienced tightness in his muscles, which led to him sitting out the entire series.
A BCCI source, who is tracking developments around Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, told the latest about the KL Rahul situation to PTI on conditions of anonymity, “The NCA has given him clearance and he will join his mates in Lucknow on Thursday (March 20) before they travel to Jaipur for the opening game against Rajasthan Royals on March 24. It is understood that he has been told to avoid squatting initially and he can don the big gloves in coming days. For first few games, he will only play as pure batter.”
Just a couple of days ago, KL Rahul took to his official Instagram account to post a video update about his recovery from injury at the NCA. In the short clip, which was captioned, “soon,” the 31-year-old was spotted batting, fielding, and performing basic wicket-keeping drills.
With the all-clear from the NCA, KL Rahul will be captaining Lucknow Super Giants in their first match of the IPL 2024, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, March 24.