The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) has confirmed the comeback of KL Rahul after a long absence due to injury. A week before the ODI series against Zimbabwe begins, Rahul has been drafted into the squad, and he is also set to lead the team.

Earlier the board had announced Shikhar Dhawan as the captain. Dhawan has become a regular captaincy choice for the Indian side in the absence of regular players. 

He led the young team on the tour to Sri Lanka for the first time, won the T20I series against Ireland a few months ago, and also oversaw India’s 3-0 drubbing of the West Indies. The fans are not happy with his demotion, as they think he should have remained as a captain despite Rahul’s comeback. 

One fan wrote, “This is disrespectful towards Shikhar Dhawan. He was already announced Captain for this tour. Either they shouldn’t have announced the team till Kl Rahul’s fitness test or Continue with Dhawan. But removing him after announcement is not good.”

Another tweeted, “You should respect the senior player like Shikhar Dhawan…Shikhar have bigger records than KL, you should not behave like this with Shikhar Dhawan as it was declared captain against Zim squad.” 

If Rahul plays the first ODI, it will be his first international match in over six months. He has had a decent campaign with his new franchise Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League 2022. He had to withdraw his name from the home series against South Africa to undergo sports hernia surgery in Germany. 

Rahul was supposed to make a comeback last month in the T20I series against West Indies, but contracted COVID-19 just before the tour. The ODI series is a great opportunity to dust off the rust ahead of the much-awaited Asia Cup, which begins later this month. Rahul will be slotted back to his opening position in T20Is, while he’ll continue to bat at No. 4 in the ODIs.

Lead Image: KL Rahul/Instagram