Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have told the BCCI medical staff they are carrying niggles which will not allow them to play the next round of Ranji Trophy games from January 23.
It is learnt that Kohli had neck pain and had taken an injection on January 8, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in Sydney. Kohli told the BCCI medical staff that he was still experiencing pain, ruling him out of Delhi’s game against Saurashtra in Rajkot.
As for Rahul, he has an elbow issue which will keep him out of Karnataka’s match against Punjab in Bengaluru. On Thursday, the BCCI issued an unprecedented list of dos and don’ts for all players, which included mandatory participation in domestic cricket. In case the player is not available to play, he will need permission from the national chairman of selectors.
While Kohli and Rahul have another opportunity to play Ranji Trophy, with the final round in the group phase starting on January 30, those matches end close to the start of the ODI series against England from February 6. Both Kohli and Rahul are in contention to play the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy; squads for which will be announced on Saturday.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo