IPL 2024: Focus on KL Rahul's fitness as he returns to lead LSG against RR

KL Rahul. Pic/AFP

The focus will be on KL Rahul's form and fitness when he returns from a quadriceps injury to lead the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against Rajasthan Royals here today.

Rahul missed the last four Tests against England due to pain in his right quadriceps. He was out for four months last year after undergoing a thigh surgery.

LSG captain will look to hit top gear not only as a batter but also as a leader, especially after guiding the team to successive playoffs in the first two seasons.
Rahul is likely to play purely as a batter, at least in the initial phase of IPL, but the additional burden of keeping strengthen his chances of making the T20 World Cup squad.

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His opposite number on Sunday, Sanju Samson, is also a candidate for the wicketkeepers' role in the India squad for the ICC event and he too will be keen to find his rhythm right from the start. RR had come tantalisingly close to clinching a second title before Gujarat Titans broke their heart in the final in 2022. They looked good in the initial stages even last season but slipped to fifth place in the end.

Both the teams will have some tough calls to make as they figure out their best XI. RR have a solid batting line-up, boosting of the likes of in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, besides skipper Sansom. They also have a finisher in Dhruv Jurel, who made an impressive India debut in the recent five-match Test series against England.

But Samson may look to strength the middle-order by bringing in West Indies's Rovman Powell to go with countrymate Shimron Hetmyer. LSG, on the other hand, would depend on Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stonis and Nicholas Pooran to do bulk of the scoring apart from skipper Rahul.

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