Blow For Rishabh Pant As Virat Kohli Hints Team Prefers KL Rahul As Wicketkeeper

India captain Virat Kohli, on Sunday, made a huge comment over who could finally by the team’s wicketkeeper-batsman in limited-overs cricket. With Rishabh Pant suffering concussion in the first match of the recently-concluded series against Australia, KL Rahul had to don the wicketkeeping gloves and the latter made a big impression behind the stumps.

Unlike Pant, who has struggled with both bat and wicketkeeping gloves, KL Rahul impressed with both bat and wicketkeeping gloves. With the bat, he played knocks of 47 and 80 in the first two matches before falling for 19 in the second. With the wicketkeeping gloves, he rarely made a mistake and also affected a fine stumping to get rid of Aaron Finch in the second ODI.

And it looks like the team-management is seriously considering the idea of making KL Rahul the permanent wicketkeeper-batsman of the team instead of Rishabh Pant. Speaking after the win over Australia in the third ODI, Virat Kohli said that KL Rahul provides better balance to the team when he takes the role of the wicketkeeper.

Virat Kohli also went down the memory lane and recalled how Sourav Ganguly-led India used Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper as he said that KL Rahul donning the gloves allows the team to include an extra specialist batsman in the team. While the India captain refrained from making a direct comment on Rishabh Pant, he subtly hinted that the team-management prefers KL Rahul to keep the wickets.

“It definitely allows us to play an extra batsman. It is an important factor while choosing the side. You can look at Rahul Dravid’s example in the 2003 World Cup, when he started keeping behind the stumps, the balance of the side became a lot better and the side was able to play an extra batsman,” Kohli told reporters.

India, meanwhile, chased down 287 with ease as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma starred with the bat, scoring 89 and 119 respectively. India will now set their sights on the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand which gets underway on January 24.

Also Read: Australia Tour Of India 2019/20: Third ODI – Stats Review