Aakash Chopra Not Convinced With KL Rahul Keeping Wickets For Team India

Famous Indian commentator Aakash Chopra is not entirely convinced by Team India’s decision of going with KL Rahul as the wicketkeeper-batsman for New Zealand ODIs. Speaking to the media on the eve of the first ODI, Indian skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that Rahul will play in the game and will bat lower down the order.

By going this, Prithvi Shaw will open the innings for India along with Rohit Sharma’s replacement Mayank Agarwal in the first ODI.

This means that Pant will not be in the final eleven owing to the first game. He was first replaced by Rahul when he suffered a concussion in the first ODI of the India-Australia home series.

Since then, Rahul has been the regular starter for India in the limited-overs format. His performance in the T20 series against New Zealand earned him the Man of the Series award.

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Aakash Chopra Not Convinced By Team Management To Have KL Rahul As A Gloveman:

“I’m not suggesting that making Rahul keep will injure him, but it would increase the chances of that happening. His body might not be used to keeping wicket for three and a half hours and then opening the innings half an hour later,” he wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.

Yes, I hear you, Adam Gilchrist could do it, but then, he also trained his wicket-keeping muscles all his cricket-playing life. Thousands of hours of keeping develop and strengthen the muscles required to perform that role. And keeping in a 50-over game is very different from keeping in a T20I,”  Chopra added.

“When and how are we going to know whether Pant or Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishen or someone else is to be the second wicketkeeper in the side,” he goes on to write.

India will take on New Zealand in three-match ODI series. The first game will take place on February 5 at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Opener Rohit has been ruled out of the series due to calf injury. New Zealand has also suffered a major blow too as Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the first two ODIs because of a shoulder injury.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Urges His Teammates To Field Better In The New Zealand ODI Series