Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that KL Rahul will be determined to prove his mettle to the selectors in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Rahul will return to action after a long break as he was out due to injury and health issues.
There is no doubt that Rahul is going to hold the key for the Indian team in the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Rahul had scored 616 runs while leading Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and had taken his team to the playoff stages.
However, Rahul had last played for the national team back in February 2022 against West Indies. The stylish right-hander was ruled out of the series against South Africa due to a groin injury. He then underwent Sports Hernia surgery in Germany and was unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19, which made him miss the T20I series against the West Indies.
Sanjay Manjrekar said while talking to Sports 18, “The spotlight will be on a couple of important players. One is KL Rahul – to see whether his long injury layoff had any effect on him. He seems to be a certainty for that T20 World Cup squad but he would like to prove to the selectors that he hasn’t lost any of his rhythm of batting.”
India has batters like Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill in the line-up, who both had opened in the innings in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.
Furthermore, the visitors have batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan, who all can open the innings, waiting in the wings. However, Manjrekar feels Rahul will open the innings for the tourists against Zimbabwe.
“Tough one because you have got Ruturaj Gaikwad there, you have got people like Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson who also open in limited-overs cricket. I am guessing that KL Rahul will open the innings.”
“If you look at his ODI record, he has played down the order as well. He is such a good player that he can make quite an impact at No. 1 and No. 4 or No. 5. He is a bit like Suryakumar Yadav.”
Manjrekar added that Rahul should open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan against Zimbabwe.
“Bat him at any position and his impact is not diminished but if you look at his big scores, he has got I think five ODI hundreds, all of them have come opening the innings, so you need somebody to play that kind of an innings in 50-over cricket. So KL Rahul will be best suited to bat at the top of the order.”
The first ODI between India and Zimbabwe will be played at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday.
