IND vs BAN: Wicketkeeper KL Rahul– Team India’s vice-captain KL Rahul’s workload is likely to increase in the days to come. After wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the Bangladesh ODIs due to a MYSTERIOUS injury, India handed over the wicket-keeping duties to KL Rahul. This indeed comes in as a bad news for the out-of-form and now injured Rishabh Pant, keeping the preparations for 2023 World Cup in mind. Follow IND vs BAN Live Updates with InsideSport.IN
IND vs BAN: Vice-captain KL Rahul gets keeping DUTY, check why it is BAD NEWS for struggling & injured Rishabh Pant’s World Cup 2023 aspirations?
Team India management is doing everything in their capacity to include KL Rahul in the playing XI. With Ishan Kishan as the back-up keeper, he was expected to replace the injured Pant. However, the team management had other ideas.
With Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli taking the top three spot, the only way KL Rahul could have made it to the playing XI, was as a wicket-keeper.
He was seen doing keeping drills before the start of the 1st ODI in Dhaka. From there on, it was clear that KL Rahul would be entrusted with gloves behind the wicket, and Kishan will have to sit out.
Why Pant should be worried?
Wicket-keeping duties are nothing new for KL Rahul. He has done that in the past. However, with the team management deciding to go back to KL Rahul as the backup keeper, it is indeed a worrying sign for the injured Rishabh Pant.
The Delhi lad has been struggling for runs, and now fitness issues are a major worry. This means that he could lose out on the wicketkeeper’s spot for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth feels that with Sanju Samson waiting in the wings, Pant should be given a break in the white-ball formats.
“Maybe you can give him (Pant) a break and tell him ‘just wait a bit, come and play in India’, they haven’t handled him well. Are you going to wait for a couple of matches before giving him a break or remove him after one or two games?” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Is KL Rahul, a long-term option for Team India?
KL Rahul first assumed the wicket-keeping duties in 2020. This was the time when Team India was getting ready for the post-MS Dhoni era.
He hasn’t done badly for India as a wicketkeeper in ODIs. In 10 matches, the right-handed batter has scored 474 runs at an average of 67.71. He also has one ton and four half-centuries and a strike rate of 113.12.
Coincidentally. Team India’s current head coach, Rahul Dravid, has also donned the role of a wicketkeeper during his playing days. He did that during the 2003 World Cup, under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy.
They say history repeats itself. With what transpired in Dhaka and given the team management’s soft spot for KL Rahul and the excuse of balance to go with it, it is highly likely that the Karnataka lad might leave Pant, Samson, and Kishan behind as India’s number one wicket-keeper for the 2023 World Cup.
IND vs BAN: Vice-captain KL Rahul gets keeping DUTY, check why it is BAD NEWS for struggling & injured Rishabh Pant’s World Cup 2023 aspirations?
Follow IND vs BAN Live Updates with InsideSport.IN
🚨 UPDATE
In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad. He will join the team ahead of the Test series. No replacement has been sought
Axar Patel was not available for selection for the first ODI.#TeamIndia | #BANvIND
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2022
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