L-R: Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul (BCCI video grab)
The Times of India in Dubai: It can never be easy to compete with a special talent like Rishabh Pant. Just ask KL Rahul. Ever since the Indian team management decided to persist with Rahul as the wicketkeeper-batter of choice in ODIs — despite the return of Pant — Rahul’s spot has been under scrutiny. Many former cricketers and experts have expressed their preference for Pant, including former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who earlier expressed surprise that a player of Pant’s abilities was sitting out.
In the process, the 32-year-old Rahul’s wonderful record at the No. 5 spot in ODIs have been ignored. In India’s run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Rahul stroked 452 runs in 11 matches at an average of 75.33, with one hundred and two fifties (strike rate 90.76).
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Speaking to reporters on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium, Rahul, who cracked a fluent 47-ball 41 not out against Bangladesh in India’s opening match, admitted to feeling the pressure of competition with Pant in the ODI team.
Rahul admitted there was always a temptation for the coach and the captain to play Pant ahead of him. “There is (competition with Pant), I won’t lie. He’s obviously a very talented player and he’s shown all of us what he can do and how aggressive and how quickly he can change the game,” Rahul said.
“So, there’s always the temptation for the team with the captain and coach to either play him or play me. For me, if I’m given the opportunity, I try and see what I can do best. I’m not trying to compete with Rishabh or I’m not trying to play like him. When he gets his opportunities, I’m sure he’s not going to try to play like anybody else. He’s picked on the basis of how he can play and what he can provide for the team. The same applies to me. So, I try to do what I do best and try to stick to my game,” Rahul said.
Rahul hinted that it was unlikely Pant would get to play a single game in the Champions Trophy due to the nature of the tournament, pointing out that there was just one day’s gap between India’s final group game and the semifinals, which means that India are likely to stick with the same playing XI.
“Luckily, I am not part of the leadership group. I don’t have to make that decision. But I’m sure there will be some temptation to try out players who have not gotten a game. I don’t think that will happen in the Champions Trophy, because there is just one day’s break between the final group stage game and the semifinal and we’ve got a six-day break. We probably want all players to play the game and get a little bit of time in the middle. That is my version. I don’t know, it might be very different tomorrow,” Rahul said.
Refreshingly for a player who’s been playing international cricket for a decade now, Rahul takes criticism of his strike rate — it’s a healthy 87.74 in ODIs — constructively. He confessed that there were times when perhaps he could have batted faster, like in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad against Australia, when he crawled to a 107-ball 66 as India folded up for 240 and lost the match by six wickets. It was an innings for which the Karnataka cricketer is still trolled.
“Look, it’s been there for quite a few years. I’m quite used to seeing it and hearing it and reading about it. Sometimes, I just sit back and see whether the criticism is valid,” Rahul said.
Rahul allayed any fitness concerns around India captain Rohit Sharma and pacer Mohammed Shami, who both went out of the field during the last game against Pakistan. “Fitness-wise, everything seems pretty okay. There are no real concerns about anyone missing, as far as I know. Everyone has been at the gym, everyone has been in training,” Rahul said.