IND vs ENG 4th Test: India Batting Coach Vikram Rathour 'Not Sure' About KL Rahul's Fitness

After missing the third Test against England at Rajkot, India’s middle-order batter KL Rahul was expected to return for the fourth Test in Ranchi, with even Indian skipper Rohit Sharma confirming to News18 CricketNext that ‘he should be okay’. However, a BCCI release on Tuesday confirmed that Rahul will miss the Test, and his participation in the fifth Test in Dharamsala is also subject to fitness.

Rohit’s comment came almost a week after the BCCI informed that the right-hander “has reached 90 per cent of match fitness”. News18 CricketNext later reported that Rahul regained fitness ahead of the Rajkot Test but wasn’t confident enough to return to the field for that fixture.

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Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour has now stated that Rahul is not fit but is unsure ‘what per cent he is fit at the moment’.

“For me, either he is fit or he is not. At the moment, he is not fit. I am not sure what per cent he is fit at the moment and what the stage is,” said Rathour during the pre-match press conference ahead of the fourth Test.

“I am not sure. The medical team will be able to advise that, but as far as we are concerned, he is not fit and not available for this game, so we are focusing on this team.”

In Rahul’s absence, Rajat Patidar is set to get an extended run in the middle order, and Rathour has put his complete faith in the youngster to come good.

“As far as having conversations with him Patidar, yes, we have been having a lot of conversations with him but one thing he needs to understand is that this is how this game goes. He has been batting really well, he has scored a lot of runs to get into the team and doesn’t become a bad player from two matches.

“He is a very good player. He has really batted well in whatever cricket he has played. He has had a few tough games, and a few awkward dismissals where the ball has stopped on him, this can happen, this is how the game goes. Absolutely no doubt that he is a good player and on his day he will come up with a very impactful innings,” said Rathour.