KL Rahul makes first move after reports surface of him replacing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain under Gautam Gambhir

India star KL Rahul has started his preparations to return to action ahead of the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka that is scheduled to get underway later this month.

The right-handed batsman has not played a competitive game since IPL 2024 with his last appearance coming on May 17. KL Rahul had a decent outing with the bat in the IPL, scoring 520 runs with the help of 4 half-centuries. However, he could not lead his team Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs.He also failed to cut the T20 World Cup as the selectors picked Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as wicketkeepers ahead of him. After failing to find a spot in the T20 World Cup squad, KL Rahul took a break from the game and went on a much-needed vacation.

He is now back in the country and has started his preparations for the Sri Lanka tour. His wife Athiya Shetty took to her official Instagram handle and shared a picture of the star batsman training hard. Rahul will have a point to prove after the T20 World Cup snub and he will be looking to hit the ground running in international cricket.

Athiya Shetty’s Instagram story:

KL Rahul to lead India in ODIs:

KL Rahul is reportedly set to lead the Indian team in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. According to reports, captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be rested for the tour and the selectors see Rahul as the best candidate to replace him as the captain in the 50-over format. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya will be leading the side in the T20Is.

“Both (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma) are automatic choices in ODI set up and the three 50-over games against England before the Champions Trophy is good enough practice for them. For next few months, they both will prioritize Tests and India will play 10 of them between September to January,” a BCCI source told PTI.

In December last year, KL Rahul led the Indian team in the 3-match ODI series against South Africa. Meanwhile, India are scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka. The T20I series will kickstart the tour. The T20Is will be played from July 26 to 29 while the ODIs will be played from August 1 to 7.