IND vs SA: Salman Butt Wants KL Rahul To Bat In Middle-Order In ODIs For India

South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series after a clinical 31-run victory against India at the Boland Park on Wednesday.

Centuries by skipper Temba Bavuma (110) and Rassie van der Duseen (129*) cruised the Proteas to register a commendable score of 296 in the first innings.

India’s middle-order collapsed in the first ODI against South Africa

South African bowlers stormed back brilliantly in the game despite a 92-run stand between Kohli and opener Shikhar Dhawan threatening to take the game away from them.

India’s batting unit wobbled from being 138/1 and slumped to 188/6 in just 10 overs as the young middle-order comprised of Rishabh Pant (16) Shreyas Iyer (17) and debutant Venkatesh Iyer (2) failed to capitalise on the solid start given by Dhawan and Kohli.

KL Rahul should bat at his usual ODI position: Salman Butt

Former Pakistan player Salman Butt suggested that India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul should bat in the middle-order and take over the keeping gloves to provide impetus in India’s trembling middle-order.

Butt also slammed the Indian board for removing Virat Kohli as India’s ODI skipper as he felt the move wasn’t needed anywhere.

“It’s like a doctor giving medicine to a fully fit person. This is one of those unfortunate reasons where everything seems upset. According to me, the immediate remedy is Rahul keeping the wickets and bat at his usual ODI position. India need to add an extra batter at the top and include a genuine pace bowler in place of Bhuvneshwar.

“The batting order will be a bit longer and India will get a free-flowing player who can put some pressure on the opposition. Also, the middle-order will get loads of experience in the presence of Rahul,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

“The biggest problem for the selection committee was selecting the captain, not picking the team. They thought that everything will remain the same despite the change in leadership. Why fix something that’s not broken? It was an untimely move and it’s going to have repercussions. The team doesn’t look in its comfort zone. We’ve been watching the Indian team for a year and it didn’t look energetic against South Africa.

“The Indian middle-order lacks depth. Also, Pant needs to shape up physically. He’s talented with every shot in his book but he needs to work on his fitness. That’s not much to ask from a person who is playing at the international level. His game will elevate to a different level if he works on this aspect,” Butt added further.

India will play the second ODI against South Africa on Friday at the very same venue as KL Rahul and his men will try to level the series 1-1.

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