Why is KL Rahul not playing in the England vs India 2nd ODI?

Star India batter KL Rahul missed out on selection in the second ODI against England on Thursday, July 16, at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Rahul didn’t have a good outing in the series opener, getting bowled for 1 (3) by Josh Tongue. He was further unavailable for selection for the second ODI due to sickness.

As a result, Ishan Kishan was brought back into the playing XI in his place. India captain Shubman Gill is also fit for the game, having been retired hurt in the series opener midway through his innings due to cramps. Gill informed about KL Rahul’s absence at the toss as England opted to bowl first.

"We would have bowled first as well. (How are you keeping?) Doing well, and yes, very happy and very pleased we had a near-perfect game last game. So hopefully we’re gonna have another good game. (Very clinical last game and a good bowling performance) Yeah, definitely. I think we had good 6-7 overs in the powerplay, and then we were put under pressure in the end of the powerplay. But I think how we came back in the middle overs, fast bowlers taking wickets, it was just tremendous to see. (For you, it’s coming back home. You played a season here) Yes, I did. I played a season here with Glamorgan, very good memories there. So hopefully I will have another one to add on to those memories. (Any changes?) Yeah, we’ve got one change, KL is sick, so he misses out, and Ishan Kishan comes back in,” said Gill at the toss.

On the other hand, England also made two changes to their playing XI as Josh Tongue and Liam Dawson were benched to make way for Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson. India will be eyeing to seal the series in the second ODI, having taken a 1-0 lead with a six-wicket win in the first ODI.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood