Cricket World Cup 2023: India include wicketkeeper Rahul after injury

Rahul's IPL campaign with the Lucknow Super Giants was cut short by injury

Wicketkeeper KL Rahul has been named in India's Cricket World Cup squad, having been out of action for four months.

The 31-year-old has not played any competitive cricket since suffering a thigh injury during an Indian Premier League match on 1 May.

He is set to join the national team in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup's Super Four stage, which starts on Wednesday.

The World Cup, in India, starts on 5 October, with the hosts chasing a first title since 2011.

Rahul will be in contention along with fellow wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, who hit 82 against Pakistan in the group stages of the Asia Cup on Saturday.

"We have said earlier that problems like these are good, that boys are fighting for spots," said captain Rohit Sharma.

"We will have to see who is in form and who is the opposition to face. All this will be calculated and the best 11 will be picked.

"For Ishan's confidence, the last match he played was brilliant - under pressure, batting at number five for the first time, [being a] left-hander gives us another dimension."

Jasprit Bumrah is included in the 15-man squad after recovering from a back injury that kept him out of the game for almost a year, but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is absent while Rishabh Pant is also out as he continues his recovery from injuries sustained in a car crash last December.

India World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.