Mohammad Kaif, former Indian middle-order batsman has opined that KL Rahul should be a part of the Indian team for the second Test against Australia because of the experience he has in international cricket.
He made this observation while talking about India’s probable changes for the Melbourne Test during a discussion on the Sony Sports network.
Mohammad Kaif: India Have A Lot Of Options Like KL Rahul And Shubman Gill
India suffered a massive defeat in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and Mohammad Kaif was asked about the changes the team could make in the squad going ahead.
While acknowledging India is in a spot of bother after the erroneous batting blunder, Mohammad Kaif named batsmen KL Rahul and Shubman Gill as two of the most possible inclusions in the Indian team.
He pointed out that Virat Kohli will not be available for the rest of the tour as he is coming back home for the birth of his first child.
“When you talk about Melbourne, the problems are there. There are a lot of options if they want to make changes. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are there. Virat Kohli will go back home after this Test match.”
Mohammad Kaif cast his vote for KL Rahul’s inclusion in the Indian team for the second Test.
He reasoned that the Karnataka batsman is a seasoned campaigner now and there has been a marked improvement in his game technique over the last couple of years.
“I feel KL Rahul should play because he has the experience. Since the time KL Rahul has been dropped from the Indian team, he has put in a lot of effort in the last one and a half to two years and there has been improvement in his game.”
The acrobatic fielder added KL Rahul performed decently even in the limited-overs series against Australia before the first Test managing 93 runs and 81 runs in 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is respectively.
“He has played well in ODIs and T20Is, if we talk about this series also. That is why he should definitely be brought into the team.”
KL Rahul last scored a ton in Tests against and England in September 2018 but failed after that which led to his exclusion in Tests. He did not feature in Tests after August 2019 against and in West Indies but had a good IPL 2020 where he was leading run-scorer scoring 670 runs in only 14 IPL games brought him back in Test fold selection.
Mohammad Kaif Believes A Player Playing Continuous Cricket Should Be Given Chance In Playing XI
Mohammad Kaif believes Shubman Gill should also be given a chance in Virat Kohli’s absence as he should be blooded in Test cricket. Mohammad Kaif highlighted that Shubman Gill has also been garnering a lot of praise and attention for his composure at the crease and decent performances in the IPL 2020 where he amassed 440 runs.
“Shubman Gill has been drawing a lot of praises. He is an organized player. His IPL was also good.”
Mohammad Kaif concluded by observing that in-form players who have been performing consistently over the past few months including IPL deserve to be included in the Indian team.
“I believe a player who has been playing continuously, in which you can include the IPL as well, in the last few months should be given a chance.”
With Virat Kohli’s unavailability and Prithvi Shaw’s indifferent form with the bat, the Indian team is likely to bring in a couple of changes for the Boxing Day Test. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are the prime contenders to take those two spots in the batting order.
India registered their lowest ever Test score of 36 after failing to score runs against the duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who picked 9 wickets together. India lost the 1st Test within 3 days despite having the advantage till the second day before the batting blunder where no Indian batsman could manage double-digit figures.