IND vs BAN: It's A Role The Team Has Asked Me To Be Ready For – KL Rahul On The Wicket-keeper's Role

India National Cricket Team vice-captain KL Rahul lavished praise on the Bangladesh National Cricket Team all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz after the conclusion of the ODI series opener.

The first ODI of the three-match series between India and Bangladesh was played at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday, December 4. Losing the toss and batting first, India were bundled out for 186. KL Rahul was the top-scorer for his side as he scored fabulous 73 runs off 70 balls, including 5 fours and 4 sixes.

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Chasing the target, Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals and they were reduced to 136/9. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s extraordinary batting efforts helped the Bangla Tigers win the match by 1 wicket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz smashed a terrific 38 runs off 39 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes. Also, he had a remarkable 51-run partnership in 41 balls with Mustafizur Rahman.

Speaking at a press conference, KL Rahul heaped praise on Team Bangladesh and all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Also, he admitted that Team India made a few mistakes in the match, but was confident that they will bounce back stronger.

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“Towards the end, there was only one way they could have won, and I think Mehidy Hasan played a phenomenal innings,” he said.

“He took a few chances, took some big risks – which he had to, towards the end, he had to take those big risks and play those big shots – and he found the boundary, and when you only have 30-35 runs [to get], one or two big shots also puts pressure on the opposition and he did that really well.

“And yeah, also a couple of dropped chances didn’t help us. Happens in cricket, and yeah, today, Bangladesh fought really hard till the end and they won the game today but we made a few mistakes and we’ll learn from it and come back stronger,” KL Rahul said at a post-match press conference.

Whenever the team wants me to play this role, I play this role – KL Rahul on the wicket-keeper’s role

The young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was released from India’s ODI squad ahead of the first match and Rahul was handed the wicketkeeper’s responsibility.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul revealed that the team management has asked him to be ready to play the wicketkeeper’s role in the team. He added that he is ready to play that role whenever required. He elaborated:

“We haven’t played a lot of ODIs in the last 6-7 months, but if you look at, since 2020 or 2021, I have kept wickets in the one-day format, and I have batted at No. 4 and No. 5 in the middle order. It’s a role the team has asked me to be ready for.

“When it comes to Rishabh I’m not very aware, to be honest. I just found out today, in the dressing room, that he’s been released – I don’t know what the reasons are, I think the medical team will be in a better situation to answer that question.”

? UPDATE

In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought

Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI.#TeamIndia | #BANvIND

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2022

“But this is a role that the team’s always asked me to be ready for in white-ball cricket, and I’ve done it before, and whenever the team wants me to play this role, I play this role.”

KL Rahul further talked about his batting performance in the first ODI and said that he is “quite pleased” with his knock, but rues not getting another 30-40 runs.

“It was just one of those days where, out of everybody else, I looked like I was timing the ball better and the shots that I picked, fortunately for me, went to the boundary, or every option that I took went my way,” Rahul said. 

“Something that I’ve been working on even in the last couple of sessions that we’ve been here in Bangladesh. The pitches, even at the back [nets], have been quite similar to what we got in the middle today, so I tried to challenge myself. All the preparation happens before the game, so quite pleased with such innings really give you joy as a batter, because you’re challenged and you have to really put your hand up when your team requires, so I enjoyed my batting today.

“But I would have ideally liked 30-40 more runs towards the end. I did fancy 230-240 if I batted till the end. [Mohammed] Siraj was batting well with me, so if I could have batted another 10 overs and got another 30-40 runs, it could have made a difference.”

Also Read: IND vs BAN: Watch – KL Rahul’s Drop Catch Of Mehidy Hasan Miraz That Cost 1st ODI Against Bangladesh

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