Bengaluru

India wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul, who returned to the Asia Cup squad after recovering from an injury, has been ruled out of the first two matches of the regional tournament. While announcing the squad, selection committee head Ajit Agarkar had said that Rahul is not completely fit and the same was confirmed by coach Rahul Dravid after wrapping up the training camp at NCA, Bengaluru.

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"The NCA will be looking after him for the next few days while we are travelling. We will reassess on the 4th (September) and take it from there. But signs are looking good. He will be unavailable for the first two games," Dravid said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also tweeted the same, confirming Rahul's exclusion from the group stage of the Asia Cup.

Also Read: Virat Kohli shines at No. 3: Ex-India opener not in favour of star batter's demotion ahead of Asia Cup

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"KL Rahul is progressing really well but will not be available for India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and Nepal – of the Asia Cup Head Coach Rahul Dravid,” read the BCCI tweet.

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Ishan Kishan will be the replacement wicketkeeper-batter for the first two games, that is, against Pakistan and Nepal. Shall India qualify for the next round, of which there are very high chances, Rahul then would be available to play from the knockout stage onwards.

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The regional tournament, which is being played in a 50-over format as a precursor to the World Cup, will kick off on August 30 when Pakistan take on Sri Lanka. India start their campaign against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. They play Nepal a couple of days after the Pakistan match, on September 4 in Kandy only.

India are also due to announce their provisional squad for the ICC ODI World Cup. The deadline for naming the 15-man squad is September 5 and almost the same set of players, more or less, are expected to make it to the ODI World Cup squad as well. The quadrennial event starts October 5 in India.

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