"KL Rahul hadn't scored..." - Ex-cricketer justifies Gambhir's decision to bench Rishabh Pant in ENG ODIs

Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that the decision to persist with KL Rahul for all three ODIs against England was the right one despite the presence of the talented keeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the squad.

Chopra feels that the Indian team management led by the head coach Gautam Gambhir had to persist with KL Rahul since he was chosen as the first-choice wicketkeeper before the series.

When asked about Rishabh Pant's chances of playing further in the tournament, Chopra responded that there is very little chance since Rahul is difficult to be dropped now. He also believes that Axar Patel's emergence as a middle-order batter has also played a key role in Pant not getting a chance.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Also read: Superstar player to block Rohit Sharma’s Test selection for England tour! Report reveals how

Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul playing ahead of Rishabh Pant

While speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra backed the idea of playing KL Rahul ahead of Rishabh Pant since he was the team's first-choice keeper. He also admitted that Pant has fewer chances to play since Axar Patel has fulfilled the role of a left-hander.

"I can understand because (KL) Rahul had not scored runs in the first two matches. You moved him to No. 6 and he didn't score runs. When you have picked him as your first choice, you have to go through with it. If you make changes very quickly, the player loses confidence," Chopra said.

"I feel Rishabh Pant has very minimal chances of playing even in the Champions Trophy. He won't get a chance to play because you will see Axar (Patel) only playing at No. 5 on the 20th," he added.

KL Rahul was preferred as the wicketkeeper in India's Playing XI for the ODI series against England. Rahul didn't score many runs in the first two ODIs but was still persisted for the third game. He scored a fine 40 off 29 balls and helped India post a formidable total.

Aakash Chopra is not in favor of playing Axar Patel at No. 5

Further speaking in the same video, Aakash Chopra differed from Gautam Gambhir's opinion of playing Axar Patel at No. 5. He feels that the players can feel insecure if they are demoted.

"I differ slightly with Gautam's statement that why should you have all right-handers in the top six when you have the option of a left-hander available. The team is made up of individuals. If any individual becomes the weak link or becomes slightly insecure and is concerned about his form, he will crumble the day there is more pressure," Chopra noted.

"If Pant wasn't the priority number one during the selection, then him not playing all three matches is quite understandable keeping in mind that KL Rahul hadn't scored runs in the first two matches, and Rahul scored 40 as soon as you batted him at No. 5," he claimed.

KL Rahul's ODI numbers

KL Rahul is likely to be India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the Champions Trophy as well. He has an excellent record as a batter and is also a safe wicketkeeper.

Rahul had a fantastic ODI World Cup 2023 where he was one of the best performers for India. He has played 80 ODIs and scored 2903 runs at an average of 47.59 with 7 hundreds and 18 fifties.