KL Rahul is expected to be fit for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and he is keen to prove himself as a wicket-keeper batter ahead of T20 World Cup 2024, according to a report. Rahul suffered a quadriceps injury in the first Test match against England and was ruled out of the rest of the five-match series. He travelled to London for treatment and the report claims that he is back in India and is expected to receive a Return to Play certificate after undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

“He had consulted top medical experts in London. He returned to India on Sunday and has checked into the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for rehab. He should get the Return to Play certificate from the NCA soon. He is keen to prove his worth in the IPL as he’s in line for selection in India’s T20 World Cup team as a ‘keeper-bat,” a source told Times of India.

Rahul, who plays for Lucknow Super Giants, is expected to feature against Rajasthan Royals on March 24.

Meanwhile, Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins will lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), the franchise announced on Monday.

The 30-year-old pacer was bought by SRH for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore in the IPL auctions in December last year, making him the second costliest player in the event’s history.

Cummins replaced South African Aiden Markram, who led SRH in the 2023 season.

“Our new captain Pat Cummins,” SRH said on social media platforms, along with a picture of Cummins.

Cummins has earlier played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, in the IPL, but this will be his first captaincy stint in the lucrative T20 league. In fact, he has not led a team in top-flight T20 cricket before.

But he has achieved huge success as Australia captain, leading the team to victory in the World Test Championship and the 2023 ODI World Cup, with both wins in the finals coming against India..

In the 42 IPL matches, he has played so far, Cummins has taken 45 wickets with 4/34 being his best bowling figures in a match. With the bat, he has scored 379 runs at an average of 18.95 with 66 not out being the highest.

(With PTI inputs)