Explained: Road ahead for KL Rahul Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson in Indian cricket

KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant are all part of the ODI and T20I squads that were announced for the series against Sri Lanka.

Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are part of the T20I squads while KL Rahul has been called up for the ODI side alongside Rishabh Pant. Rahul did not play in the recently concluded T20 World Cup that was won by India.

His absence has made may question his future in the format. Pantr, however, is very much a three-format player having made a stellar comeback in the IPL and then again being a part of the T20 World Cup squad.

Speaking about Sanju Samson, he has been used much as a filler as the management has used him in place of the other keeper more so when the regular keeper needed a break. Samson recently played in the series against Zimbabwe and scored a fifty in his last T20I match. He scored a century in his last ODI series against South Africa before he was dropped.

Also Read: "Let Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad feel hard done by"- Ajit Agarkar's nonchalant verdict

What The Future Holds For Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson

Managing the three keeper-batters will be one of the biggest challenges going forward for Gautam Gambhir. How he uses the trio across formats will also be an interesting observation.

Ajit Agarkar the Chief Selector revealed the reason behind picking KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series.

“Rishabh has been out for a long time. So, we want to bring him back without burdening him. Someone who has come back after a long time, you need to bring them back in the scheme of things gradually. KL, one of the feedbacks he has got is ‘you’ve got to hit the reset button" said Agarkar.

Rahul was one of India's top performers at the ODI World Cup last year, smashing 452 runs in 10 innings, laced with a hundred and two fifties, batting at No. 5 for India. The right-hander, who was once India's opener across formats, had adjusted himself well at the middle-order position.

He had a lot of injury concerns between 2021-2022. Rahul last played an ODI match in the series against South Africa and was the captain of the side as well. He was also part of the playing XI for the first then. Then he was ruled out of the rest of the series with quadriceps and knee injuries. Now that he is back in the ODI squad, he will have to fight for his place with Pant as the specialist keeper-batter.

Speaking about Sanju Samson, reports said that the return of KL Rahul has forced him out of the Indian ODI side. He scored a century in the last ODI series that he played against South Africa but he still fell out of favour.

Thus the team selection for the Sri Lanka series points out at the fact that Gautam Gambhir and the management are looking at different options and also rotating players across formats. Pant however looks to be India's certain keeper-batter across formats with Rahul and Samson in the management's plans as well.

Also Read: Team India to have 3 different teams for each format? Gautam Gambhir's candid revelation