Ajinkya Rahane, already through a rough phase with the bat, has now suffered a serious grade III hamstring injury during the IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He will have to remain off the field for at least four weeks.

The injury is eventually set to rule him out of the India tour of England in June-July. Selectors may go for the Indian team for the tour of England within time of a week. The team is likely to depart for England round about June 16.

Rahane shall leave the bio bubble of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) today (May 16) evening. Rahane was not seen on the field during SRH’s innings, at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune after getting injured in Match 61 of IPL 2022. Rahane scored 133 runs in seven games while opening for KKR.

According to reports, Rahane will be reporting at the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore for further regulations. The former India vice-captain may need more than four weeks of rehab.

Rahane, not being there with the team may not be epicenter of the discussion, as Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer are the top contenders for his place. The test specialist of India, along with Cheteshwar Pujara, was dropped from the Indian squad for a home series against Sri Lanka, earlier this year.

Considering his poor run since several months, Rahane still had chances to make it into the squad if not in the playing XI, for England tour. While Pujara, gazing at his County run for Sussex so far, can certainly get back to the team.

Selection Committee to Pick 2 Squads

Chetan Sharma led selection committee will pick two squads; one for a T20I home series against South Africa (SA) and other for the England tour. India will play five T20 internationals against SA, between June 9 to June 19, at Delhi, Cuttak, Vizag, Rajkot and Bengaluru.

Regulars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are set to be rested for the series. The squad will feature bests from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and may be led by Shikhar Dhawan. Besides, Suryakumar Yadav’s fitness would be another concern to look at.

The selectors’ meeting is supposed to happen physically and not virtually. The coaching staff too, will have to divide duties if BCCI is planning to send the SA series squad to Ireland for two T20 internationals. These games will be played at Dublin on June 26 and 28.

Furthermore, India will play the fifth test remained from the last year’s tour to England and three T20 and one day internationals. The England and Wales Cricket Board is planning to organize a warm up game before the test, in Birmingham, from July 1 to 5.

Written By Prachi Pisal

---