Lucknow Super Giants have been dealt with huge injury blows to their captain, opener K.L. Rahul and left-arm fast-bowler Jaydev Unadkat. On the last ball of the second over bowled by Marcus Stoinis during the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rahul was chasing the ball to stop a boundary off Faf du Plessis.
But Rahul went down immediately as the ball went for four and was badly grimacing in pain after having injured his right leg. While attending to Rahul, the Lucknow support staff also called up a stretcher to take him off the field.
But in what was a small solace, Rahul went off the field with some support on both sides and didn't need a stretcher. In his absence, left-arm-spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya has taken up leadership duties.
On the other hand, Unadkat injured his left elbow by landing on it while in his follow-at-the-net session on the eve of the match. He was bowling around the wicket in the nets when his left foot got stuck in the orange rope around the nets and fell badly on his left elbow.
Later, visuals showed him with a sling around his left arm and an ice pack over his left shoulder kept constantly by a member of the Lucknow medical staff. Both Lucknow and Indian cricket teams will be keeping a close look at the injuries to Rahul and Unadkat.
Both Rahul and Unadkat are part of the India squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia to be played at The Oval, London, from June 7-11, immediately after IPL 2023 ends on May 28.