'Rahul should be on stretcher': Gavaskar, Manjrekar’s alarming reactions after LSG captain suffers injury scare in IPL

KL Rahul picked up an untimely injury during Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) home match against RCB in the IPL 2023 on Monday.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered a massive blow in the form of KL Rahul as the charismatic leader of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise picked up a freak injury on Monday. Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya took over the captaincy reins after regular captain Rahul limped off the field during the opening powerplay of the action-packed match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Rahul picked up an untimely injury during Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) home match against RCB(PTI-IPL)

The LSG skipper exited the IPL 2023 match in the second over when the marquee player injured his right leg in a bid to save some crucial runs for the hosts. Though a stretcher was brought on for Rahul, the injured LSG captain opted to walk back on his own. Talking about LSG's fresh setback on-air, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feared that the LSG skipper would have been stretchered off in the wake of an unfortunate injury.

“He is such a fit cricketer, a tremendous athlete, brilliant when he sprints between wickets during his batting. He was giving everything on this fast outfield and wanted to get the ball to prevent those runs. Good thing that he is walking, I thought he might need a stretcher,” Manjrekar told Rohan Gavaskar during the match commentary of the IPL 2023 encounter on Jio Cinema. “I actually don't think it's good that he is walking. I think he should be on a stretcher. Just get to the dressing room without aggravating it further and get the treatment straight away,” Gavaskar argued.

“Something about using a stretcher. It's something a lot of people don't like. I know what you saying is absolutely right, why aggravate? Just sleep on it. But there is a thing with a stretcher. I've seen a lot of athletes refusing it,” observed Manjrekar.

Who can replace Rahul?

Will Rahul make way for Impact Player? With the Indian opener picking up an untimely injury during the match, the hosts can use either Ayush Badoni or Quinton De Kock as an Impact Player against RCB. Earlier, Rahul’s LSG revealed Badoni, Daniel Sams, Avesh Khan, De Kock and Prerak Mankad as the Impact Player options for the ongoing match.