Krunal Pandya takes over captaincy duties for LSG as KL Rahul Limps off with season threatening hamstring injury
KL Rahul is under serious danger of missing out on the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after hurting his quad muscle while fielding on Monday (May 1).
Going for a boundary save in the early phase of the league stage encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Rahul had to stop after he faced immediate irritation in his right leg and went down on the turf.
Soon the player was seen leaving the field in excruciating pain, limping off with the support of the LSG teammates and physio as he experienced excruciating pain in his quadriceps.
The situation felt so bad at one point that the groundstaff made it a point to take the stretcher out on the sidelines. However, the option was refused with the LSG skipper deciding to limp his way back to the dugout instead, handing over captaincy on interim basis to left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya.
Is this it for KL Rahul in IPL 2023?
The moment the injury came to light, the commentators and fans were left wondering if KL Rahul would be able to comeback and take part in the contest against RCB?
The way the cricketer stopped before stretching forward for the dive and collapsed near the ropes got everyone watching worried for the player's fate in the game.
By the looks of it, however, things could be worse for the LSG skipper and opening batter as the injury threatens to derail the cricketer's parade for the tournament and could be ruling him out of the remainder of LSG's campaign.
Hamstring and quadriceps injuries require more time to recover than most and since LSG are already into their ninth game of the league stage, any potential break of 2-3 weeks could mean curtains for Rahul in IPL 2023.
The injury would also pose a major worry for the Indian team as they approach the marquee final of the World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia, starting on June 7, less than 10 days after the final of the premier domestic T20 competition.
For now, though, Indian fans would hope against hope that Rahul hasn't done too much damage on his leg. The cricketer had missed majority of action last year with series of injuries.