Blow for India - KL Rahul likely to miss ICC Champions Trophy

Virat Kohli and co. will be travelling to England to feature in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in June. India are the defending champions and with Kohli at the helm of the team, they will look to defend their title. But injury concerns have already been clouding captain Kohli's mind. 

KL Rahul, who has been an important cog in this Indian team across all the three formats of the game, is unlikely to gain match fitness ahead of the Champions Trophy. This could be a huge blow for the Indian team as the opening slot-conundrum will rise again. 

Rahul injured his left shoulder during the first Test of the India vs Australia series in Pune. Despite that, the Karnataka batsman went on to score 393 runs at an average of 65.50 including six fifties in seven innings.

After the Test series against Australia, Rahul travelled to England to undergo a surgery and the doctor told him that he will take at least 2-3 months to recover completely. That is the reason he missed out on IPL 2017. Or else, the talented batsman would have surely featured in the playing XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"I have to wait and see but the chances are slim. I had torn my labrum [a ring of fibrocartilage attached to the shoulder socket]. I couldn't get into a few positions because my shoulder kept dislocating. That's why I couldn't play a lot of shots and had to restrict myself. I played with a lot of medication and taping. The doctor said it will take 2-3 months," Rahul was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

• KL Rahul
• ICC Champions Trophy