Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels Indian Team should play KL Rahul ahead of KS Bharat in India’s World Test Championship against Australia in England. KL Rahul has been impressive for India in overseas conditions as he scored a century in Lord’s against England.
Ravi Shastri speaking to Star Sports during the 1st ODI, wants Rahul to play as a wicketkeeper in the WTC finals which will strengthen India’s batting lineup in challenging England’s condition.
Besides, Shastri said it will interesting to see whether Indian management trusts him as a wicketkeeper to play ahead of Bharat.
“He has really done well to keep the selectors interested ahead of the WTC final, Two things, one for the ODI series when Rohit Sharma returns and the other for the WTC final. India can bolster their batting if Rahul can keep wickets,” Shastri said.
Shastri further continued that the inclusion of KL Rahul can strengthen India’s middle order along with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and he added Rahul can cement his place in India’s playing 11 with his performance in the ODI series against Australia followed by the all-important Indian Premier League.
“Rahul can bat in the middle-order No. 5 or No. 6. in England, you have to generally keep wickets from far behind. You don’t have to keep up with the spinners a lot. He has 3 more ODIs to go before the IPL. He can cement his place in that Indian team.”
KS Bharat failed to grab the opportunity during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to seal his place in Test XI. The WTC final will be played in June at the Oval against Australia.
Reduce ODI Format To 40 Overs – Ravi Shastri Suggests A Significant Change In ODI Format
Former India’s world cup winner Ravi Shastri has suggested that One day format can be reduced to a 40-over game instead of a 50-over to save the format. With the ODI world cup scheduled to be held later this year, it looks like ODI Cricket is losing its significance.
Ravi Shastri, who was part of the Indian team’s World Cup victory for the first time in 1983, pointed out the ODI format was 60 overs then, but now the format is 50 overs and stressed as people’s attention towards the format is reduced–and it’s high time to reduce the format to 40 overs.
With the emergence of T20 leagues around the world and the introduction of the World Test Championship, players and fans are more titled towards T20 formats and Test formats. The ODI bilaterals are significantly reduced and players are opting to play in franchise leagues. The ODI world cup scheduled later, this year will give us a proper insight into the format.