KL Rahul ruled out of series with wrist sprain

India batsman KL Rahul has been ruled out of the remainder of the Australia Test series with a sprained left wrist. He had hurt the wrist on Saturday, during India's practice session at the MCG.

India have since flown to Sydney, where the third Test is scheduled to kick off on January 7. A fourth Test follows from January 15. The series is currently level at 1-1.

Rahul will return to India for rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and require "about three weeks' time to recover completely and regain full strength", a BCCI release said. This could put him in doubt for at least the start of India's four-Test home series against England, which is scheduled to begin on February 5 in Chennai.

Rahul had not played either of the first two Tests against Australia, but there was potential for him to slot into the XI in Sydney given Mayank Agarwal's poor run at the top.

Rahul's injury adds to a long list of unavailable players for India. Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the Australia tour with an abdominal muscle injury. Then, since the start of the Test series, India have also lost the services of Virat Kohli, who is away on paternity leave, and fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who picked up injuries in first and second Test respectively.

On the upside for the team, Rohit Sharma, who missed the first two Tests, is set to slot back into the XI, having joined the team in Melbourne after quarantine and been named deputy to stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.