Hayden stated he wanted Rahul Dravid in Indian team, when speaking about KL Rahul.
Matthew Hayden, one of the greatest openers in the world of cricket, made a funny mistake on air when he said that he wanted Rahul Dravid in the Indian team, instead of KL Rahul, while talking about the third BGT 2024 Test in Brisbane.
Hayden was assessing India's loss in the pink-ball Test, and his mistake had Gavaskar in stitches. The comment occurred after Gavaskar stated that Rohit should not bat at No. 6 and instead return to opening the batting for India because he is already lacking confidence owing to his lack of form.
“I think he should come back to opening for the next Test because he likes the ball to come onto the bat. This innings, one can understand, because he hadn't played for a while, and Rahul and Jaiswal had a 200-run partnership in the previous game. But Rahul can come down the order and face the second new ball. I'm being optimistic that India will bat so well in the next game that Rahul will take care of the second new ball,” Gavaskar said.
Hayden did not agree with Gavaskar, and we went on to add that India should not make hurried changes to its starting XI. He also backed the "technically-sound" Rahul to continue as an opener but ended up saying "Rahul Dravid" in place of "KL Rahul".
“I'll be slightly more stubborn. I will not be changing at this stage. I know you would like a better outcome inside the top three. But from what I saw in Perth, technically, Rahul Dravid is right there. He just needs to do it for a longer,” Hayden explained.
As soon as Hayden finished his analysis, Gavaskar taunted the Australia legend as he said - “I would love it if it was Rahul Dravid, as you said, but it is KL Rahul.”
Hayden was left in splits as he said that Dravid's centuries at the Adelaide Oval "still haunts him".
“Sorry, KL Rahul. My apologies. I was thinking of when he dominated here in Adelaide and got us smashed in the 2003/04 series. That's a nightmare I'm still living,” he said.
Here is the video: