Virat Kohli Confirms KL Rahul As Wicketkeeper For New Zealand T20Is, Prithvi Shaw Likely To Open In ODIs

Rishabh Pant suffering a concussion during the ODI series against Australia has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Team India. With Pant out of action, India asked KL Rahul to don the wicketkeeping gloves and the decision turned out to be a masterstroke.

KL Rahul continued his red hot form with the bat and impressed behind the stumps too. His stumping of Aaron Finch in the second ODI made it very clear that he is more than just a handy wicketkeeper. And his performance has now pretty much made things tougher for under-performing Rishabh Pant.

After the end of the series against Australia, Virat Kohli had hinted that KL Rahul is expected to keep the wickets for the foreseeable future. However, when Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the upcoming tour of New Zealand, many thought that it might open up a place for Pant in the eleven. But Virat Kohli’s latest comments have all but ended Pant’s chances of getting into the playing eleven at least for the upcoming series against New Zealand.

Speaking ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand, Virat Kohli said that KL Rahul would continue to bat at number five in ODIs which effectively means that uncapped Prithvi Shaw can open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Kohli further said that Rahul would open the innings in T20Is and would also keep the wickets.

“In the ODIs, we will stick with Rajkot and let KL Rahul express himself at 5. In T20Is the dynamics change and let KL bat at the top. He’s doing well with gloves and that has given us more stability and we are looking to continue with him for a while,” said Virat Kohli.

“I know there will be a lot of talk about what happens to other players but for us, it’s about what the team requires and the best balance of the side,” he added.

Kohli also spoke about Shikhar Dhawan’s absence and assured that India have experienced replacements lined up to deal with the situation. Dhawan was in stunning form in the Australia series before a shoulder injury sidelined him.

“In terms of maintaining continuity, it is a challenge for us. In the meantime, if you talk about replacements, we have a lot of players who are boasting of experience. I don’t see a problem of replacement but yes continuity is a problem,” he said.

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