Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has given a shocking statement on former pacer Venkatesh Prasad’s continuous criticism of batting of India keeper-batter KL Rahul in recent times. Since Rahul was demoted from vice-captaincy during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the talented opener has continued to draw attention.
The former Indian vice-captain is competing for a spot as a wicketkeeper-batter in the three-match One Day International (ODI) series between India and Australia after being displaced by Shubman Gill in India’s formidable top-order.
Gambhir is the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) of which KL Rahul is the captain and will lead the team in IPL 2023. When asked whether Rahul will be under the pump at the IPL after a dreadful run in the Australia Test series, Gambhir reminded Rahul’s critics that the star batter guided LSG to the playoffs last season.
“What kind of pressure? Last time we (Lucknow Super Giants) finished at No. 3 and it was a tough fight between RR and LSG. Obviously, only one team can lift the trophy. And Gujarat won the IPL, they played excellent cricket last season. And if you take a look at the performance of Lucknow in their debut season, they finished 3rd only because of the NRR. If you finish 2nd in IPL, you get 2 chances at the playoffs,” Gambhir told SportsTak.
“As far as KL Rahul is concerned, I don’t think he is under any kind of pressure. International cricket and IPL are different from each other. If you don’t perform in international cricket despite scoring 1000 runs in IPL, you will still have to deal with criticism. And that’s international cricket for you. After all, only 15 players get a chance to play for India. In IPL, more than 150 players get selected. Thus, you should not compare these two (IPL and international cricket).” Gambhir added.
KL Rahul recently scored a brilliant 75* to help India win the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai in a low-scoring thriller.
Sometimes Ex-Cricketers Need Some Masala To Remain Active: Gautam Gambhir On KL Rahul’s Criticism
Recently, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad severely criticized KL Rahul for his poor performance over the last year in Test cricket after he underperformed in the first two Tests of the recent Australia series. Prasad showed stats and numbers while slamming Rahul for using up a spot in the Indian team and getting way more chances in his opinion than some of the other similarly talented players.
Speaking about such constant criticism of Rahul, Gambhir took an indirect dig at ex-India pacer Venkatesh Prasad.
He said: “How Rahul has fared in the IPL, he has 4-5 centuries in the tournament. And you are talking about a player who has already slammed 4-5 centuries. Even last season he scored a century against Mumbai Indians. We have so many people here. Sometimes ex-cricketers need some masala to remain active. So that’s why you criticise people. According to me, the kind of player KL is, he won’t be under any kind of pressure. You can’t win a tournament with one player. The 25 players who are inside the dressing room help you win the tournament.”