Ailing Lokesh Rahul out of Bangladesh tour

KOLKATA: Talented Karnataka opener Lokesh Rahul was on Saturday ruled out of Team India's upcoming tour of Bangladesh as he is yet to recover from dengue.
"KL Rahul is still recovering from his illness and so will not be a part of the squad to Bangladesh," BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told the media.
The 23-year-old flew into the city despite the illness but the medical staff ruled him out after examining his condition.His father, KN Lokesh, however, claimed that Rahul was down with flu.
"Rahul was admitted to a Bengaluru hospital for a couple of days with high fever. It was common flu from which he recovered three days ago. But he still has a bit of tiredness," his father said.
With regular openers Murali Vijay and Shikar Dhawan in the squad, the team management has not asked for Rahul's replacement. Hence, skipper Virat Kohli will lead a 14-member squad to Bangladesh where India are scheduled to play one Test match and three ODIs. The players underwent a fitness test at the Eden Gardens on Saturday evening and will have a full practice session on Sunday afternoon. The Indian contingent leaves for Dhaka on Monday morning.
Rahul, who had an inauspicious start to his Test career in Melbourne scoring just 3 and 1, made amends in his second Test at Sydney , where he scored his maiden hundred (110).
The youngster did well in the Ranji Trophy too hitting 838 runs in five matches, including a triple ton against Uttar Pradesh and 188 against Tamil Nadu in the final. National selector Vikram Rathore will be travelling with the side for the Test match while Roger Binny will join the side for the ODIs in Bangladesh. Incidentally no national selector had travelled with the team during the World Cup Down Under earlier this year.