KL Rahul, Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta interviews KL Rahul. (Photo by: Prashant Bhoot / IPL/ SPORTZPICS)

Former India opener, Kris Srikkanth has backed IPL sensations KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu for a place in the Indian T20I squad, filling up the slots of the opener and middle order.

Srikkanth went ahead and stated India had underused the potential of these two batsmen in the past. KL Rahul only has a permanent place in Test XI but had found it difficult to play in the Indian XI in coloured clothing.

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Meanwhile, Rayudu last played for India in a prominent series was against South Africa in 2015. Also, he was part of the second string Indian squad during the Zimbabwe series in 2016.

Kings XI Punjab, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle
KXIP beat KKR by 9 wickets at the Eden Gardens. Image Courtesy: Getty Images

What connects these two-stroke players is that both of them have not got their due, despite being stellar with the bat. If the current edition of the IPL is any indication, then India might have just unearthed two men to fill in two important slots: opening and number four. These two get the job done as effectively as anyone else,” Kris Srikkanth told TOI.

KL Rahul lit up this season of IPL with the fastest fifty ever in the tournament. While collecting his MoM memento, Rahul stated after being labelled as a Test player; it was good to break some T20 records.

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Rahul continued his splendid hitting form in the recent game against Knight Riders with a 27-ball 60.

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Rahul had already bagged a couple of man of the match titles to his name along with his opening partner Chris Gayle.

KL Rahul, Delhi Daredevils IPL 2018
KL Rahul smashes a 14-ball fifty against Delhi Daredevils in Mohali.

The fierce determination in Rahul is unmistakable. Having got a raw deal as far as white ball cricket goes, the youngster wants to prove a point that he is the best in the business with a game cut for all three formats,” mentioned the World Cup winning Indian opener.

Due to the dominance of the Indian top order, featuring Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul has found it difficult to make the cut into the Indian XI, at his preferred position.

The man with the 11 crore price-tag to his name, already has a century in all formats of the game for India.

Kris Srikkanth IPL 2018
Kris Srikkanth has said that he is not a big fan of R Ashwin’s leg-spin. Photo credits: AFP

Remember he has also been shunted up and down the order. Credit to Kings XI for making him bat at his favourite position” continued ‘Chikka’.

On Ambati Rayudu

Parallel to Rahul, Ambati Rayudu has displayed tremendous form and flexibility, effective both as an opener and in the middle order for Chennai Super Kings.

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Ambati Rayudu IPL 2018
Ambati Rayudu’s 79 helped CSK post a daunting total and later inspired them to beat SRH by four runs.

“Rayudu has put his hand up for Chennai every time. Taken out of his comfort zone. Was told to open, he responded positively,” the 58-year old former CSK brand ambassador wrote.

After being demoted down the order, to accommodate Faf du Plessis at the opening slot, Rayudu smashed a brilliant 39-ball 79 on a visibly difficult pitch to bat.

IPL 2018: Kris Srikkanth Backs KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu in T20Is for India
Rayudu opened the innings in Vijay’s absence and was successful in all his outings. Credits: IPL

The knock he played against Hyderabad. On a slightly slower track against possibly, the best bowling combination in the IPL speaks volumes of what he is capable off,” concluded Kris Srikkanth.

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