Former England swashbuckling batter Kevin Pietersen wants India’s team management to back KL Rahul at number five in the batting order for the upcoming Champions Trophy. In the first two ODIs against England, Rahul batted at number six and returned with scores of 2 and 10 as he came out to bat at the fag end of the innings. In the third ODI at Ahmedabad, Rahul batted at number five and scored 40 runs off 29 balls.
Pietersen noted that the Karnataka batter is not suited to play the role of a finisher and he needs some deliveries under his belt before he gets settled at the crease. The former lanky batter, who was known for his aggressive batting approach, said Rahul is not going to give many cameos to the team.
In the first two ODIs, India backed Axar Patel at number five and the southpaw returned with scores of 52 and 41*.
Kevin Pietersen said on Star Sports, “I want KL Rahul at 5 because I want him to face many balls he got. He came in today with 17 overs to go. And when you come in with more time, you can build it. I don’t think KL Rahul is the guy that comes in with three overs to go and hits you 30 or 12 ball. Rahul is the kind of guy that needs to get himself in in one day cricket. The best chance to give him that time is to bat him at 5.”
On the other hand, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir said they will keep using Axar Patel up in the batting order as he has been creating an impact with the bat.
Gambhir said in the presser, “That’s the way cricket is meant to be played. I know a lot of people talk about it, but that’s the way we’ve got to play the game and that’s the way cricket should be played. It’s not about the batting order. It’s about who can create what impact. And it’s about… if you have the option of putting a quality left-hander in the middle, why won’t you do that? Why would you want to have the top five as right-handers?”
India will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on February 20.
