Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul is set to join his franchise ahead of the opener clash against Rajasthan Royals which will be played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Wicketkeeper batter will join the franchise on March 20 as NCA gave him clearance for the cash-rich league. KL Rahul will play as a pure batter as BCCI suggested him to avoid squatting initially so he will play as a pure batter in the initial matches of IPL. However, he will don the gloves after some matches. "The NCA has given him clearance and he will join his mates in Lucknow on Thursday (March 20) before they travel to Jaipur for the opening game against Rajasthan Royals on March 24. It is understood that he has been told to avoid squatting initially and he can don the big gloves in coming days. For first few games, he will only play as pure batter," a BCCI source tracking the developments of LSG told PTI on conditions of anonymity. KL Rahul will likely to keep the wickets in the T20 World Cup and he will play on number 5 or 6 in the marquee event which is scheduled to start in June and will be played in the USA and West Indies. "Rahul will not be considered for a top three slot in the Indian T20 team considering his previous performances. He can be that keeper-batter at Nos 5 or 6 if he has a decent IPL. But if he plays purely as a batter, you have a far better option in Rinku Singh, apart from Rishabh Pant, who might just stake a claim with some power-packed performances," a BCCI source privy to developments, said. KL Rahul had suffered an injury during the first Test against England in Hyderabad and was ruled out of the remaining games.

LSG Squad

Amit Mishra, Arshin Kulkarni, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, David Willey, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, K Gowtham, K L Rahul (C), Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, M Siddharth, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Yadav, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Nicholas Pooran, Prerak Mankad, Quinton de Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph, Shivam Mavi, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh