Rahul, 28, has been ruled out of the final two Tests with a wrist sprain sustained during a net session at the MCG last Saturday, joining Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami on the sidelines.
The 2020 Indian Premier League top scorer hasn’t been utilised in the Tests but may have come into contention after captain Virat Kohli departed following the First Test defeat to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.
Rahul will return home to India while the remainder of the squad have travelled to Sydney for the Third Test which starts on Thursday, with the Aussies set to recall David Warner after injury with the series locked at 1-1.
The BCCI said it’s anticipated Rahul will be unavailable for three weeks, which cuts it fine ahead of India’s upcoming series against England.
India have some selection dilemmas ahead of the SCG Test, with Mayank Agarwal struggling for form, with scores of 17, 9, 0 and 5, totaling 31 runs across four innings.
White ball gun Rohit Sharma is fit again and likely will come into calculations to replace Agarwal in the XI in Sydney.
Yadav will also need to be replaced in the Indian XI to support Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with T. Natarajan added to the wider squad, while Shardul Thakur is tipped to come into the side.
Stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane was the star in Melbourne, scoring a century and leading his side to an eight-wicket victory to level the series when many critics had written the tourists off.
India also took 20 wickets for less than 400 runs at the MCG, with Australia’s batting woes compounding, hence their haste for Warner’s return, while youngster Will Pucovski is also in contention, with Joe Burns already dropped.