KL Rahul fitness update: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul is very likely to feature in the side's opener against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, March 24. LSG's new head coach Justin Langer has revealed that Rahul, who missed out on the last four Tests against England due to the recurrence of a quadriceps injury, has worked hard to regain match fitness, and should be ready to play the team's first IPL2024 game.   "KL was supposed to be here this afternoon to play in the practice game tonight, but unfortunately, he's had a hold-up on the aeroplane. He'll be at the ground later on tonight, so he'll probably arrive just after the start of the day's play," Langer said on Wednesday, March 20. "He'll be around for the first time to be with the boys and to be with the team. Everyone's looking forward to seeing him. We know he has worked very hard to tick off all his return-to-play protocols. He's worked very hard. He's been practising, he's been hitting lots of balls. He's hopefully ready to go. It's going to be nice to have the captain with us," he added. Further, the former Australia coach and opener added that players in the team including KL Rahul and Ravi Bishnoi would increase their chances to play in the T20 World Cup 2024 by doing well for Lucknow. "My view - and I've said this for probably 25 years - [is that] if the team does well, then everyone gets rewarded. And therefore, from KL's point of view, if he captains the Lucknow Super Giants to an IPL victory, it means he would've played well himself and he would've captained very well, and he would've wicket-kept very well. "If we have team success, everyone will be rewarded. That'll be the message for all the players, including Bishi [Ravi Bishnoi] and KL, and there's a few others who will be vying for T20 World Cup spots. "That's all part of the game we play. The more they concentrate on playing well for Lucknow the more their chances of being selected will increase. It's a sweet problem, but we'll work it out. It's nice to have so much talent in our squad," he added. KL Rahul has opened for LSG in the past, but might come to bat in the middle-order. Devdutt Padikkal has been roped in by Lucknow for the season, and could open. The opening spot in India's T20I team is full, and KL Rahul comes after Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the pecking order. To grab a place in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, KL Rahul can eye for the wicketkeeper-batter spot in the middle-order. Utkarsh Singh Mykhel source: mykhel.com