Heavy blow for Team India as opener KL Rahul is set to miss the Champions Trophy

India opener KL Rahul is set to miss the Champions Trophy in June after undergoing operation on his injured shoulder earlier this month, the 25-year-old has said. Rahul hurt his left shoulder while batting during the opening test against Australia in Pune but played through pain during the four-match series, scoring six half-centuries.

The right-handed batsman is not playing the ongoing Indian Premier League Twenty20 and had a surgery in England. The Champions Trophy, to be played between the top eight ODI sides of the world, starts from June 1 in England. Defending champions India are in Group B with neighbours and arch-rivals Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

“I will just have to wait and see but the chances are very, very slim,” Rahul was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper. “I had torn my labrum (a ring of fibrocartilage). I couldn’t get into a few positions because my shoulder kept dislocating – popped out and popped back in. That’s why I couldn’t play a lot of shots, had to restrict myself. I played with a lot of medication and taping. Surgery was to fix it on the inside.”

Rahul played in all three matches for India in their …read more