Mohammad Kaif praises KL Rahul’s tactics in IND vs SA 2025 1st ODI

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif heaped praise on KL Rahul’s tactics in the opening ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Sports Complex, Ranchi on Sunday. Rahul is leading in the ODI series against the Proteas after Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were ruled out of the series.

Kaif not only praised Rahul for his fine knock but also for picking the right playing XI in the opening game of the series. The flamboyant batter scored a fine knock of 60 runs off just 56 balls to add the finishing touches and help India post a par score of 349 runs on the board. 

The former Uttar Pradesh batter said veteran batters – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – would have helped KL Rahul in deciding the final XI.

“KL Rahul has his own limitations. He has his way of playing, but is consistent. He always scores. He has done a lot of good things too in this game. He played proper bowlers and did not play Pant or Reddy. It would not have been an easy call as a new captain. I think he would have taken some input from Virat and Rohit as well, somewhere on the sidelines, if not directly. He is a mature captain. I am sure he would have done this. That is why six proper bowlers played. You need extra bowlers on such wickets, and this was very good captaincy,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif said Washington Sundar will have a role to play in the next game after he bowled only three overs in Ranchi.

“You need an all-rounder as Hardik is not there. Sundar bats well, even if he may not bowl a lot. That is why he is in the team. The left-handers got out early, so maybe he did not bowl a lot, but he will have a role to play in the next game,” Mohammad Kaif stated.

On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav returned with impressive figures of 4-68 in the 10 overs he bowled. The wrist spinner accounted for Marco Jansen and Matthew Breetzke in the same over to put India in front. Kaif said India would need Kuldeep Yadav in the World Cup.

“Even without Kuldeep Yadav, you cannot win the World Cup. Take this in writing as well. He may get hit, but in the whole game, he can create impact. A moment will come when he will change the game. He is that kind of bowler. He certainly leaves his impact,” Kaif said.

The second ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday.