India tour of Zimbabwe: KL Rahul-led India fly out for ODI series against Zimbabwe

KL Rahul, who has not played any competitive matches since February 2022, was declared fit to not only join the team but lead it against Zimbabwe.

KL Rahul-led India have left for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, beginning August 18 at the Harare Sports Club.

Rahul, who has not played international cricket since February 2022, was declared fit to not only join the team but to lead it after the BCCI medal team gave him a green signal. Shikhar Dhawan, who was originally named captain, was subsequently demoted to the vice-captaincy role.

Zimbabwe bound! #TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/GKsofzEvRe

Rahul led the new entrants Lucknow Super Giants in the recent 2022 Indian Premier League. Since then, he has not played any competitive matches. He was supposed to lead India during the five-match T20I series against South Africa at home, but on the eve of the series he was ruled out due to a groin injury. His stay on the sidelines got extended after it was revealed that he needed surgery. As such, the 30-year-old missed the tour of Ireland and England.

He was set to return and join the Indian squad during the tour of West Indies but had to miss the limited-overs series after testing positive for Covid-19. Rahul was recently named in the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to begin on August 27. India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28.