Gambhir, Rohit told not to ‘keep drumming’ KL Rahul to fit in Pant in IND's ODI XI: 'He hasn't done anything wrong'

Former opener Aakash Chopra wants India to go with continuity and pick KL Rahul as the wicketkeeper batter in the XI against England in the ODI series. The team management has a tricky task in picking one between consistent KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant, who will help fit a left-handed batter in the batting order. Pant has not played much 50-over cricket in the past couple of years, as he missed a chunk of cricket due to injuries he sustained during a horrific car accident. In Pant's absence, Rahul took over the wicketkeeping duties in major tournaments like the World Cup and Asia Cup; he also scored consistently well in the middle over. India's Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul at a warm-up session.(PTI)

Chopra suggested that Pant will make his case in the XI if India will be desperate to fit in a left-handed batter in the top six.

"There are two schools of thought. One is that you have all right-handers, Shubman Gill is there with Rohit Sharma, then Virat Kohli, Rahul and Hardik Pandya. So don't you want a left-hander there? People who come with that thinking are saying Rishabh Pant should be played," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, the former cricketer talked in length about Rahul and elaborated on how he had shown versatility in every role the coach and captain asked him to do, be it wicketkeeping, batting as an opener, or in the middle order.

"What goes in KL Rahul's favour is what wrong has he done. Just because his name is Rahul, will you keep drumming him? Will you keep getting him to do all the jobs, whether it's keeping, going down or up the order, and serving the drinks? No, that's not going to happen," he added.

'Why would you drop someone who hasn't done anything wrong?'

Rahul also had an incredible ODI World Cup 2023, but his slow fifty in the final came under the scanner. However, Chopra feels that if he hadn't played like that, India might have got all out cheaply.

"He played well in the World Cup. I still remember the Australia match at Chepauk. India were reduced 25/3, something like that, and he performed like a Player of the Match. Then he continuously scored alright. He was criticized a lot for batting a little slow in the final, but we might not have reached where we reached if he had gotten out instead of batting slow," Chopra elaborated.

The former cricketer turned commentator made his opinion crystal clear and picked Rahul as his front-runner for the wicketkeeper's job in the upcoming three-match series, which will be the tune-up for the Champions Trophy.

"I am going with KL Rahul. I am going with continuity. Why would you drop someone who hasn't done anything wrong just because someone else does well? Rishabh Pant's ODI record is a work in progress and KL Rahul hasn't done anything wrong. So Rahul should be the frontrunner," he reasoned.

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