“Gutted not to be leading the side…”: KL Rahul reacts after being ruled out of South Africa T20I series; wishes Rishabh Pant the very best as new team India captain

KL Rahul reacts after being ruled out mere 24 hours before the commencement of team India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa.

The Indian Cricket team, without the presence of some of their big guns in the squad, were handed a heavy blow after KL Rahul, their designated skipper for the five-match T20I series against South Africa was ruled out of the entire series due to his right groin injury.

“He (KL Rahul) felt pain and he was checked on Wednesday morning. The team management decided that as a measure of precaution, as well keeping the England series in mind, he will be withdrawn from the South Africa series,” said a source in the knowledge of the development, as per Cricbuzz.

While one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has been elevated to the post of skipper, and is now set to lead the Indian team, for the very first time in front of his home crowd at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium tomorrow onwards.

Additionally, at 24 years and 248 days, the Delhi wicket-keeper batter will also become the second-youngest Indian captain to lead the team in the T20 format.

KL Rahul reacts after being ruled out

Rahul, who has had quite an affair with injuries for team India off-late, took to his social media handle to express his disappointment for having lost the opportunity to lead team India for the first time at home.

Having said that, he also wished Rishabh Pant the best of luck for his maiden stint as the team’s captain, while also remarking to support the team from the sidelines.

Hard to accept but I begin another challenge today. Gutted not to be leading the side for the first time at home, but the boys have all my support from the sidelines.Heartfelt thanks to all for your support.Wishing Rishabh and the boys all the luck for the series.See you soon🏏💙

— K L Rahul (@klrahul) June 8, 2022

It is worth of a mention that Rahul, after having missed the two-match series against New Zealand in November last year, was also unavailable during the team’s tour to Sri Lanka in February-March this year due to injury.

It remains to be seen if he will be available for the Test match against England from July 1 in Birmingham, which is also a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the five-match Test series for the Pataudi Trophy.