Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on KL Rahul for his versatile role in the batting order. Rahul batted at number six in the first two ODIs against England and thus didn’t get to face a lot of deliveries.
Rahul returned with scores of 2 and 10 in the first two games against the visitors after Axar Patel was backed at number five. In the third ODI, Rahul batted at number five and scored an impressive knock of 40 runs off 29 balls before he was plumbed in front of the wickets by Saqib Mahmood. Thus, he played a key role in pushing India’s score past the 350-run mark.
Rahul was preferred ahead of Rishabh Pant in England ODIs and the same is expected in the Champions Trophy.
“KL Rahul was finally sent at No. 5. The question was why he doesn’t score runs at No. 6 as runs can be scored at that number as well. However, when you ask a player, he says it’s about the confidence shown in him and the role he is assigned at a particular number,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“You sent him once at No. 5 and he scored 40 runs off 29 balls. However, I feel the Indian team will still send Axar at No. 5. So KL Rahul will move to No. 6 and Hardik (Pandya) will be at No. 7. The question will come whether he (Rahul) is batting at the right number,” Chopra added.
The renowned commentator noted that KL Rahul will be preferred ahead of Rishabh Pant as the latter was not given his chance against England in the ODI series.
“An interesting thing is that all the players who were picked in the Indian team in this series, from Yashasvi Jaiswal to Arshdeep Singh, everyone played matches. Only one player has not played and his name is Rishabh Pant, and he is part of the Champions Trophy. It means the story has ended. The book will be closed,” he said.
“KL Rahul is only going to play for now. With KL Rahul scoring runs, it’s certain that Rishabh Pant has no chance of playing at the moment, at least not in the first couple of games. However, he (Rahul) had the No. 5 position in this match but won’t get it after this. I feel Axar only will go at No. 5,” Chopra observed.
India will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on February 20.
