KL Rahul ruled out of IPL 2017 with shoulder injury

What’s the story?

Royal Challengers Bangalore just can’t seem to catch a break ahead of IPL 2017. First, it was Virat Kohli’s injury that looks set to rule him out of at least the early part of their season, now it is KL Rahul, who will miss the tenth edition of the tournament with the shoulder injury he sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

According to reports, he will be travelling to London to undergo surgery in a bid to be fit to be selected for the ICC Champions Trophy in June. The 24-year-old has been in sparkling form, scoring six fifties in seven innings during the series against Australia but he will now take no part in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League.

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In case you didn’t know...

The Indian opener was one of RCB’s stars during IPL 2016 where he had a breakthrough performance that ensured that he became a mainstay in the Indian side across all formats. He was the third-leading run-getter for his side in 2016 behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers with 397 runs from 12 innings.

The heart of the matter

Chasing their maiden IPL title, Royal Challengers Bangalore have suffered their second injury setback after Kohli and will now have to start the season without two Indian stars in KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, both out due to injury.

Speaking about his injury after India scripted a remarkable comeback on day four of the second Test in Bengaluru, KL Rahul said: “(My shoulder) It gets quite sore. I can't quite dive on the field. There are a few shots that I will have to restrict. I will play within myself. Even I do, it's not that I can’t score, I have all the shots in the book. That is what I spoke to the management and the captain. I will have to focus more with the problem in my shoulder. I am still enjoying batting with that problem.”

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What’s next?

The tenth edition of the IPL is set to commence on April 5^th, while the Champions Trophy in England is scheduled to begin on June 1^st. Having been ruled out of the IPL, the Karnataka batsman will look to be fit in time for the Champions Trophy.

Author’s Take

But it does look as though the problem is far more serious now, with surgery required to keep him fit ahead of the Champions Trophy. With Rohit Sharma currently injured and Virat Kohli as well, India's top-order doesn’t look particularly promising.

But the Champions Trophy is still a while way, for now though, it will be interesting to see who RCB sign as a replacement for Rahul, who was an integral part of their side in 2016.