IND vs BAN ODI: KL Rahul wicketkeeping: Come ICC World Cup 2023, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant may very well watch the tournament from home. Vice-captain KL Rahul has declared that in ODIs, he will continue to keep wickets and bat at No 4. With focus on more and more all-rounders, all three keepers may as well say goodbye to their hopes of playing in ODI World Cup in India. Despite Ishan being present on the bench, Rahul donned the big gloves in 1st ODI. Follow India vs Bangladesh LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“We have not played many ODIs in the past 6-7 months. But if you look from 2020-’21, I have kept wickets and batted at four. I have been assigned this role by the team. I don’t exactly know the reason for Pant’s release. The medical team will be able to tell why Pant was released,” KL Rahul said at post-match press conference.
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IND vs BAN ODI: Vice-captain KL Rahul SHUTS DOWN Samson, Ishan & Pant’s opportunity, says ‘Team has asked me to bat at 4, keep wickets in ODIs’
If he continues to play that role, India’s three deserving keepers won’t get a chance to be in Playing XI. Team management is keen to involve Suryakumar Yadav. Hence, if he bats at No 5, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will only compete for backup wicketkeepers. But they will only get to play if KL Rahul is injured.
IND vs BAN: Why Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant & Sanju Samson can say goodbye to World Cup 2023?
- Considering KL Rahul stays FIT, he is the No 1 choice for wicketkeeper in ODIs.
- With backing from team management, Shikhar Dhawan will keep his spot in India’s Playing XI. He will open with Rohit.
- Hence, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will only compete as backup keepers.
- Therefore, only one of them will make it if KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan take rest or are injured.
- But it spells doom for Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.
- Team management has heavily favoured Rishabh Pant in all formats.
- Hence, only if Dhawan loses form completely or has a niggle, Pant will get the first preference over Sanju and Ishan.
- With priorities are on all-rounders from No 6 spot, it will be almost impossible for other keepers to feature in India’s Playing XI.
Meanwhile, in line with that decision, KL Rahul replaced Pant in the 1st ODI against Bangladesh. Shikhar Dhawan opened with Rohit Sharma. But it was Shreyas Iyer who got the No 4 slot ahead of KL Rahul. But the Indian vice-captain was in ominous touch after struggles in T20s. He scored fighting 73 runs. Without him, India would have been staring at a humiliating score.
“It was just one of those days where I was timing the ball better than everyone else. Every shot that I played and the options I took worked for me today. I have been working on shots even in the last couple of net sessions in Bangladesh. I tried to challenge myself on this pitch and I am happy with my inning. I enjoyed batting today. But we would have liked 30-40 more runs. Siraj was batting well with me. Towards the end, I could have stayed longer and taken our score to 230-240,” KL Rahul said.
IND vs BAN: Vice-captain KL Rahul SHUTS DOWN Samson, Ishan & Pant’s opportunity, says ‘Team has asked me to bat at 4, keep wickets in ODIs’
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