India’s Rahul out of third test against England

NEW DELHI: India batsman KL Rahul has been ruled out of the third Test against England after failing a fitness test and has been replaced in the squad by Devdutt Padikkal, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) said on Monday.

Rahul, who played 50 Tests for India and scored eight centuries, missed the second Test of the five-match series due to injury.

“Mr Rahul has reached 90 per cent match fitness and is progressing well under the supervision of the BCCI medical team,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“He will continue his recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be fully fit for the fourth and fifth Tests.”

Rahul is the second leading Indian batsman to be ruled out during the third Test after Virat Kohli was ruled out of the series due to personal reasons.

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England spinner Jack Leach will also miss the rest of the series with a knee injury.

Padikkal, who replaced Rahul in the squad, has represented India in T20 cricket but is yet to make his Test debut.

India and England are tied 1-1 in the series as the third Test begins in Rajkot on Thursday.