India’s K L Rahul bats during the second day of their first test cricket against England in Hyderabad, India, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024.

RAJKOT, India (AP) — India batter KL Rahul was ruled out of the third test against England and replaced in the squad by Devdutt Padikkal on Monday.

The absence of Rahul is another blow to India, whose batting lineup is also missing superstar Virat Kohli because of personal reasons.

Rahul missed the second test, won by India by 106 runs last week to bring the series level at 1-1, because of a quadriceps injury. India said Rahul “reached 90% of match fitness” and was progressing well in his bid to be fit for the fourth and fifth tests.

The third test in Rajkot starts Thursday.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.