BCCI extends deadline for champions trophy squad, eyes KL Rahul’s performance in england ODIs

Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appears to have reconsidered KL Rahul's selection for the upcoming ODI series against England. Initially, Rahul had requested a break from the series and the BCCI had agreed to it. However recent developments suggest that the board has now asked Rahul to make himself available for the series with the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, eager to include him in the squad. The selectors had originally decided to rest Rahul who plays in the middle order and serves as a wicketkeeper in ODIs from the entire white-ball series against England. However after rethinking the BCCI has now asked him to play in the ODIs to gain match practice ahead of the Champions Trophy in February as reported by the Times of India.

Although India’s batting struggled in the recent Test series in Australia Rahul was one of the few who performed well finishing as the third-highest run-scorer for India with 276 runs in 10 innings at an average of 30.66. Rahul is competing for the wicketkeeper-batter role in the Champions Trophy squad alongside Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. While Rahul seemed almost certain to be selected for the Champions Trophy the selectors now want to evaluate his performance in the ODI series against England before finalizing their decision.

According to Cricbuzz the BCCI has also requested an extension from the ICC regarding the Champions Trophy squad announcement. The original deadline for the provisional squad submission was January 12 but it seems the board may need more time to finalize the roster.

Several players, including Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy are also in contention for the Champions Trophy squad but there is still uncertainty surrounding the final selection.