KL Rahul Officially Ruled Out of IPL 2023, Lucknow Super Giants Announce Karun Nair as Replacement

Lucknow Super Giants suffered a massive blow as their skipper KL Rahul has been officially ruled out for the remainder of Indian Premier League 2023. The franchise has named Karun Nair as the replacement for Rahul for the remaining matches. Rahul sustained a thigh injury while fielding against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday. He missed the Chennai Super Kings as Krunal Pandya led the charge of the side in the rain-affected match.

“Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday named Karun Nair as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul for the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023,” the BCCI released a statement.

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“Rahul sustained a thigh injury while fielding during Match 43 of TATA IPL 2023 against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow,” it stated in the statement.

Karun, who has slammed a triple century in Tests, played 76 IPL games in which he scored 1496 runs. He will join LSG for INR 50 Lakh

Earlier in the day, Rahul expressed his grief, in a long social media post, over not being able to be with his team in the ongoing IPL 2023 and with the Indian team at the Oval next month.

Also Read | KL Rahul to Undergo Thigh Surgery, Won’t Participate in WTC Final Against Australia

“After careful consideration and consultation with the medical team, it’s been concluded that I’ll be undergoing a surgery on my thigh shortly. My focus will be on my rehabilitation and recovery in the coming weeks. It’s a tough call to make, but I know it’s the right one to ensure a full recovery,” Rahul wrote in his latest Instagram post.

“As the team captain, it pains me deeply not to be able to be there during this crucial period. But, I’m confident that the boys will rise to the occasion and give their best performance as always. I’ll be cheering for them from the sidelines with all of you, watching every game. @lucknowsupergiants,” he wrote further.

Meanwhile, it will be tricky for the All India Selection Committee to find the right replacement of Rahul for the mega World Test Championship 2023 final against Australia which will start from June 7.

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