KL Rahul Should Play All The Three Odis Against England: Gautam Gambhir

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has thrown his weight behind out-of-form KL Rahul and said that the Indian team should show belief in the Karnataka batsman and have him play all the three ODIs against England which start on March 23.

All the three ODIs will be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune and will not have any fans in attendance due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the state of Maharashtra.

KL Rahul had a horrid T20I series against England scoring 1, 0, 0, and 14 in the four innings he played, and was finally dropped for the deciding fifth T20I by the Indian team, with Virat Kohli moving up to open the innings and scored 80*, adding 94 runs with Rohit Sharma, who made 64 for the first wicket.

Dropping KL Rahul Will Not Do Him Any Favour: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir has called for the inclusion of the premier batsman in the upcoming One Day Internationals (ODIs) against World Champions – England. He mentioned that dropping him from the playing XI will only hurt his confidence and he needs the team to show that they are still backing him.

“Dropping anyone will not do them any favor. He (Rahul) will have to play three ODIs. Someone is out of form, the only way you can bring them back is by giving them more opportunities. Because when you are sitting on the bench, it is not a good feeling. Because you know you have been dropped, and that feeling is not the best feeling,” Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.

Gautam Gambhir was also of opinion that India should have played KL Rahul in the fifth ODI as well, as they opted to bring in T Natarajan for the opener and play six bowlers. Gambhir backed India’s tactical move to play the series decider with one extra bowler but said that Rahul should have been given another chance.

Also Read: Team India Fined 40 Percent Of Their Match Fees For Maintaining Slow Over-Rate In The 5th T20I