Indian cricketer KL Rahul has been ruled out of the Pallekele leg of India's Asia Cup campaign (first two matches) that begins against Pakistan on September 2 as he will also not travel to Sri Lanka on Wednesday with the rest of India's squad, reports ESPN cricinfo.

Instead, Rahul will continue to work with the NCA physios in a bid to be "fully fit" and available for the Super 4s stage of the competition. He will undergo a fitness assessment on September 4 before a call will be taken on his travel.

"KL has had a good week here [at India's conditioning camp] with us," Dravid said in Alur on Tuesday. "He's trained well and done a lot of things. He's progressing really well on the route that we want to take. But he will be unavailable for the Kandy leg of the trip.

"The NCA [National Cricket Academy] will be looking after him for the next few days while we are traveling. We will reassess on September 4 and take it from there. But signs are looking good and he's progressing really well."

When the squad for the Asia Cup was named on August 21, Rahul was only deemed conditionally fit. While he had fully recovered from the thigh injury he sustained during IPL 2023, Rahul was understood to have picked up a "minor niggle", according to chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan