Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has questioned the team management for their handling of KL Rahul in the first ODI against England. Rahul batted at number six whereas all-rounder Washington Sundar batted ahead of him at number five.

The flamboyant right-hander was dismissed after scoring a solitary run after he chopped the ball back on to his stumps in the run-chase of 259 while facing Josh Tongue.

Sundar, on the other hand, went on to score an unbeaten knock of 52 runs and got the team over the line in the run-chase with Axar Patel. 

Srikkanth said India is wasting one of the best batters in the world in KL Rahul.

Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “I don’t think he’s also liking this demotion. You are wasting one of the best batters in the world in ODIs. Are you going to continue sacrificing one of the world’s best batters? There is too much made out of the left-right combination. By doing this, you are spoiling KL Rahul’s confidence. He’s a potential match-winner for you.”

“How can you send him at No.6 and 7? They are playing around with Rahul and this is not done. Playing around with Rahul like this is not at all good for Indian cricket, looking towards the 2027 World Cup. The tracks there will have more bounce and pace and Sundar should not be going ahead of Rahul. That’s not a good move at all.”

The 1983 World Cup-winning player added that Sundar should not bat ahead of KL Rahul in ODIs.

“There is no denying that Sundar batted brilliantly in this match. Yet, there is no way Washington Sundar can ahead of KL Rahul. You can’t have Sundar at 5. It’s fine for low totals like this game. But if the target was over 300, they would have struggled with this batting order,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

The second ODI between India and England will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Thursday.