Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said that KL Rahul doesn’t deserve a spot in the team when Shubman Gill is in the Indian squad. Rahul has been dealing with injuries for most of 2022 and struggling to find form in 2023. Rahul failed to impress in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Many experts opined about KL Rahul‘s place in the team and he has been strongly criticised by Venkatesh Prasad over his batting who called for deserving players to get opportunities instead of out-of-form players.
“Rahul doesn’t even deserve a spot in the XI when Shubman Gill is there. There is no excuse here. The management just wants to play him (Rahul),” former Pakistan skipper Rashid said on his YouTube channel.
India will take on Australia in the third match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting on March 1 in Indore. India is likely to bring in Shubman Gill in place of underfire KL Rahul.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has also weighed in with his views on KL Rahul as an under-pressure batsman. The legendary spinner backed the opener to do well. He also urged the Indian cricket fraternity to leave Rahul alone.
Shubman Gill Likely To Replace KL Rahul In Third Test Of Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Indian opening batter Rahul was dismissed by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon in both innings of the last test match after scoring 17 and 1. With the highest score of 23 in his last 10 test innings, Rahul’s last Test century came in December 2021 against South Africa. Rahul was also removed from the vice-captaincy role when the Indian squad for the final two Tests against the Aussies was announced.
The Indian team management – Captain Rohit Sharma and Coach Rahul Dravid have said that they will continue to support KL Rahul, but it is likely Shubman Gill come in for Rahul in the third test starting on March 1.
The 23-year-old already has a century in all three formats and his last seven international knocks include four hundred. The right-handed batsman smashed 208 in a one-day international against New Zealand in January and his unbeaten 126 against the same opposition last month is the highest T20 score by an Indian batsman.