KL Rahul suffered a blow on his right elbow during India’s match simulation at the Waca ground in Perth on Friday and was forced to leave the field for scans.

Following three days of net practice, the Indians engaged in a match simulation session at the centre wicket among senior and ‘A’ players when the incident took place.

Rahul’s injury ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at Perth Stadium from November 22 has raised concerns over his fitness. With Rohit Sharma almost certain to miss the first Test because of personal issues, Rahul was slated to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The team management keeps their fingers crossed as they await the scan reports, which are expected on Saturday.

Rahul looked to be in fluent touch and appeared to be handling the short-pitched stuff well before being struck on his right elbow by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna.

The blow left him grimacing in pain and he trudged off the ground after seeking medical attention.

Rahul did not come out to bat later in the day as India’s main batters had another turn at the crease. His last Test hundred was against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023 and since then he has made just two fifties in nine innings.

Rahul was dropped for the last two Tests against New Zealand after he made 0 and 12 in the opener in Bengaluru. His rough patch continued in a recent India A game against Australia A, where he scored only 4 and 10. With mounting pressure, Rahul is eager to regain his form in the challenging Australian conditions.

There was more concern after the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Virat Kohli underwent scans on Thursday for an unspecified injury.

However, that did not prevent Kohli from participating in the match simulation where he made 15. The team management remained tight- lipped and there was no immediate cause of worry for the former India captain.

Jaiswal batted aggressively but nicked to second slip on 15. Kohli also departed in a similar fashion and then
spent the next hour in the nearby nets.

The shortpitched stuff seemed to have troubled the Indians and even Rishabh Pant copped a blow on his body. He was later bowled by a Nitish Reddy delivery.

Some of India’s top-order batters, including Kohli and Pant, enjoyed a second round of batting in the second half.

With inputs from PTI