The Indian team will continue with KL Rahul as the keeper-batsman even though Rishabh Pant has regained his fitness. According to Indian captain Virat Kohli, this is what Indian cricket team management’s plan in near future for the shorter formats.
Rahuls’ 52-ball 80 in the second ODI helped India set a massive target who was also the designated wicket-keeper in the match in absence of Pant. The in-form batsman recently has impressed one and all and provided a good balance in the team. Kohli is now keen on continuing with the same combination in the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Kohli explained, “Rahul really brings in a good balance to keep that well and bat that well in that position. It’s just that he’s come into that slot and has done well. We’ll have to persist with that a little bit and see where that takes us and not necessarily be confused about the other options that we have. I think a lack of clarity in terms of positions in the past has really hurt us.”
He further added in the post-match conference on January 19 that there is no point of creating confusion with sudden changes in the team especially when everything seems to be on track. “Now that we understand that this team is right, we’re going to go ahead with that for a while and figure out whether this is the right team or not. We can’t chop and change immediately and create confusion within the group. We’re playing well, unchanged team, and we did the job again. Two wins back to back… I don’t see any reason why we should change this balance as it has done well.”
Meanwhile, KL Rahul is already being compared with Rahul Dravid. The legendary batsman was seen keeping under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy which allowed the management to play one extra batsman. Even Kohli spoke about the same and said, “It definitely allows us to play an extra batsman which strengthens our batting massively. That is a very important factor as far as the team balance is concerned. If you look at the 2003 World Cup where Rahul Bhai started keeping, the balance became different because you could play an extra batter and guys at the top could really play positive cricket.”
The skipper also mentioned how flexible KL Rahul is. His game plan is eventually helping the team. “He is very open to playing anywhere because he is a proper batsman and does good in any format and any position in the game. He won’t go slam-bang from ball one but he can do what he did in Rajkot just playing good cricketing shots. So I think solid game plan and understanding of his game is helping. He has reflected on what he needs to do in the last five-six months and he has come a long way.”