Rahul was sent to bat at no.6 after Washington Sundar in the first ODI.
Following the first ODI against England at Edgbaston, former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth criticized the team management for their inadequate use of senior wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul. Despite his excellent ODI record, the 34-year-old batted at No. 6, behind Washington Sundar.
India won by six wickets, but Rahul was dismissed for a three-ball one. At No. 5, the right-hander has an amazing ODI record, averaging 63.20 in 35 innings. Rahul, at No. 6, averages just 37 in 14 ODI innings.
"I don't think he's also liking this demotion. You are wasting one of the best batters in the world in ODIs. Are you going to continue sacrificing one of the world's best batters? There is too much made out of the left-right combination. By doing this, you are spoiling KL Rahul's confidence. He's a potential match-winner for you.
How can you send him at No.6 and 7? They are playing around with Rahul, and this is not done. Playing around with Rahul like this is not at all good for Indian cricket, looking towards the 2027 World Cup. The tracks there will have more bounce and pace, and Sundar should not be going ahead of Rahul. That's not a good move at all,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Rahul has batted in each of the top seven positions in his ODI career, but has an impressive aggregate average of 50 in 97 games, including eight centuries.
Despite praising Sundar’s innings in the first ODI, Srikkanth dismissed the notion of KL Rahul continuing to bat after the all-rounder at no.6. Sundar played a good knock of 52*, adding over 100 unbeaten runs with Axar Patel after India was in trouble at 160/4 in the chase.
"There is no denying that Sundar batted brilliantly in this match. Yet, there is no way Washington Sundar can be ahead of KL Rahul. You can't have Sundar at 5. It's fine for low totals like this game. But if the target was over 300, they would have struggled with this batting order," said Srikkanth.
England and India will next clash in Cardiff in the second ODI of the series on July 16.