Vijay Hazare Trophy: KL Rahul pulls out of knockout stage
What's the story
Star Indian top-order batter KL Rahul has opted out of the 2024/25 Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout stage.
Rahul played a lot of cricket in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under.
The right-hander has been a key player for Karnataka in previous seasons but has now asked for a break after the grueling series in Australia.
Here are further details.
Series contribution
Rahul's performance in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahul showed his batting prowess, scoring 276 runs at an average of 30.66.
His versatility shone through as he adjusted to different positions in the batting line-up.
A decision on his participation in Ranji Trophy's second phase, which starts on January 23, will be taken shortly.
Squad setback
V Vyshak's injury weakens Karnataka pace attack
Apart from Rahul, fast bowler V Vyshak has also been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. This further weakens Karnataka's pace attack.
However, despite these setbacks, other Indian players who played the Test series such as Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna will feature play the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout stages for Karnataka.
Tournament progress
Karnataka's performance and upcoming match
Under Mayank Agarwal's leadership, Karnataka emerged as Group C toppers with six wins in seven matches.
They beat Mumbai, Puducherry, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Saurashtra, and Nagaland. Their only defeat came to Hyderabad.
Skipper Mayank has been leading Karnataka from the front, having slammed four tons. He tops the runs column, with 613 runs from seven games at an astronomical average of 153.25.