INDIA batter KL Rahul has been ruled out of the third Test against England through injury.

Rahul also missed the second Test in Visakhapatnam with a thigh issue, which India won to level the series 1-1.

It is yet to be confirmed whether all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will return to the XI after a hamstring injury.

Devdutt Padikkal replaces Rahul in an already depleted India squad, with star batter Virat Kohli confirmed to miss the remainder of the series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) added that Rahul “has reached 90% match fitness” and is expected to return for the fourth and fifth Tests.

The third Test starts in Rajkot on Thursday, 15 February.

Middle order batter Shreyas Iyer was also not named in the squad for the remaining three Tests, leaving a relatively inexperienced batting line-up if Jadeja is ruled unfit.

India squad for third Test: Rohit Sharma (Cap’t), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep. (BBC Sport)