Sunil Gavaskar also explained reason behind his choice for the role.
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar hailed KL Rahul as an "all-rounder" and picked him as his first-choice wicketkeeper in ODIs going forward. His comments came after Rahul took up the job behind the stumps during the first ODI against Bangladesh.
The former Indian skipper believes that Rahul’s presence in Team India’s playing XI offers the side a great opportunity to play with an extra bowler, and called Rahul an all-rounder of sorts.
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Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports: “He has been batting for India at No.5 with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening the batting most of the time and Virat Kohli at No.3. He has been batting at No.5 for a while now. Maybe that is the position that he is looking to consolidate.”
The legendary further explained, “What that does is it gives India the extra option. If you have somebody as a middle-order option who can keep wickets then you can look at taking another bowler. I call him an all-rounder because he can keep wickets, he can open the batting and can bat at No.5.”
He also said that Rahul can bat at any position while keeping wickets, and that’s why he feels the Indian team should pick the right-hander as the wicketkeeper-batter for the mega event in India.
He concluded, “KL Rahul is an all-rounder as far as I am concerned. And someone like him with the kind of experience he has and the range of shots he has, he is the kind of finisher you want at No.5 or 6.”