K L Rahul ruled out of first Test with viral fever

Galle: Injury-prone India opener KL Rahul is down with fever, and has been ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Rahul scored a fine half century in a tour match in Colombo, his first competitive game in close to three months due to an injury lay-off.

He is now down with fever and did not travel with the team from Colombo on Sunday.

He also missed Monday's practise session here, making him a doubtful starter for the series opener.

Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund are likely to open for India. However, one cannot rule out the chances of Rohit being tried as an opener.

The team's other regular opener, Murali Vijay, too pulled out of the series at the last minute saying he had not fully recovered from a wrist injury.

After making a solid 54 against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in Moratuwa last week, Rahul had said that he was nervous about his fitness.

"You know that you are physically fit and you have done everything that you can, worked really hard, you are feeling stronger, you are feeling fitter," Rahul told bcci.tv.

"But the mind always tells you what if it happens again, what if you have to go through the same grind for three months, what if your shoulder is not ready, what if you [have] come back early?"