KL Rahul ruled out of first Test, Suryakumar Yadav added to squad
Kanpur(PTI): Senior India opener KL Rahul was on Tuesday ruled out of the first Test against New Zealand, starting Thursday, due to an injury. Suryakumar Yadav, who was a part of India's Test squad that travelled to England, has been added to the side.
"KL Rahul is not playing the first Test," a BCCI source told PTI.
Rahul was missing from the Indian team's customary practice session, attended by almost all the players on Tuesday at the Green Park stadium.
The nature and extent of Rahul's injury could not be confirmed.
Shubman Gill was seen opening the batting along with Mayank Agarwal during the team's net session as Cheteshwar Pujara, the vice captain for the series-opener, also batted.
It is understood that one among Shreyas Iyer or Suryakumar Yadav will make his Test debut and bat in the middle order.
Shubhman was expected to bat in the middle order but now in the absence of Rahul, the youngster will be asked to play in his usual opening slot.
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Pak cancels nearly 184 international flights to West Asia after Iran attack
Karachi (PTI): At least 184 international flights of different airlines from Pakistan to the West Asia have been cancelled since Saturday owing to the escalating situation after the US and Israel attacked Iran.
A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat, Sharjah, Riyadh, Jeddah from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Sialkot, Peshawar, Faisalabad had all been cancelled.
“The flights were on the schedule of different airlines,” Hafeez Khan said.
International flights in the West Asia have all been badly disrupted or suspended after the closure of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports which serve as a major hub for connecting flights to Europe, USA, Canada, South America etc.
Airline authorities have suspended all air traffic in the region because of the increase in missile and drone attacks by Iran on the US bases in the region.
The spokesperson said at least 40 flights were cancelled from Islamabad and another 46 from Lahore.
The Pakistan airspace remains open for domestic flights, he said.
The attack on Iran by the US and Israel disrupted flights across the West Asia and beyond as countries around the region closed their airspace and key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the West to Asia were directly hit by strikes.
