India handed KL Rahul headache after injury scare during India’s MCG training; false alarm on Rohit Sharma, Akash Deep

It was an injury-laden training session for India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, just four days before the start of the fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. While it turned out to be a false alarm on Rohit Sharma and Akash Deep, India were handed an injury headache after KL Rahul was hit on the hand.

It happened on Sunday when Rahul was hit on his right hand while batting at the nets. He looked in absolute discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the Boxing Day Test from December 26 with the five-match series levelled at 1-1 and was immediately attended to by the team’s physio. In a video that went viral on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

India have yet to give clarity on the extent of the injury and why he had sought medical attention.

If India are forced to bench Rahul at the MCG, it will be a major setback for the team, given that the opener has been the only consistent batter for the side in the ongoing Test series, having scored 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

False alarm on Rohit, Akash

The Indian cricket fraternity was served a shocker on Sunday morning, with visuals of Rohit sitting on the sidelines of the training session with an ice pack on his right knee. The India captain was struck during his batting session. But it turned out to be a false alarm. Although he did not return to the nets thereafter, a report in Sportstar said that he was seen having a word with the final set of batters who had hit the nets.

Akash, on the other hand, was hit on his hand and was seen placing an ice bag on the injured area. However, he later told the media: “The practice pitch is probably meant for white-ball cricket, the ball kept low at times. As for these minor injuries, these things happen at training, and there are no major concerns because of that. I am fine.”