 "KL Rahul will reportedly be rested for India's white-ball series against England. PTI image")
India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul will reportedly be rested from the Men in Blue’s upcoming limited-overs series against England at home. According to a report in the Times of India, national selectors have assured Rahul of a spot in the India squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy despite being rested for the England series. “Rahul has been assured of his spot in the Champions Trophy. Hence, he will be rested from the England series," a source aware of the developments told the Times of India.
KL Rahul remains integral part of India’s ODI setup
Although Rahul is not a T20I regular anymore for India, he remains an integral part in the team’s ODI setup. He remains India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the 50-over format and has shown consistency while batting in the middle-order. At the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 32-year-old scored 452 runs from 11 matches at an average of 75.33, including one century and two fifties.
He last played a T20I for India in November 2022, during India’s humiliating loss to England in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Adelaide. With Rishabh Pant making his return to international cricket, it will be interesting to see if Rahul continues to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in ODIs. Rahul recently scored 276 runs from 10 innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia Down Under at an average of 30.66. He scored two fifties during the series. He played all five Tests against Australia and the Karnataka cricketer will skip the knockout stage of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.
India’s upcoming assignments
The five-match India-England T20I series will get underway in Kolkata on 22 January and will conclude with the final match in Mumbai on 2 February. The three ODIs will be played 6, 9 and 12 February before India commence their Champions Trophy campaign with a Group A match against Bangladesh in Dubai on 20 February. India will then play Pakistan at the same venue on 23 February, before locking horns against New Zealand on 2 March.
The Team India squad for the Champions Trophy is expected to be announced on 11 January, a day before the 12 January deadline that has been given to all eight teams.