India vice-captain KL Rahul on Sunday (December 5) revealed that the team management has asked him to be “ready to keep wickets and bat in middle-order” in ODIs going forward.
Rahul kept wickets and scored 73 off 70 balls while batting at No. 5 in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Dhaka.
This was after wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was released from the ODI squad on the medical team’s advice.
“We haven’t played a lot of ODIs in last 8-9 months but if you look at 2020-21, I have kept wickets, and I have batted at Nos 4 and 5. This is the role that team has asked me to be ready for in white ball cricket as I have done it before,” Rahul said in the post-match press conference.
The vice-captain, however, didn’t clarify whether Pant was released from the squad because of workload management or some niggle.
“When it comes to Rishabh, I am not sure to be honest, just found today, that he is going to be released. What the reasons are, medical team will be in a better situation to answer those questions,” he stated.
Team India suffered a heartbreaking one-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in a low-scoring first ODI.
Chasing 187 to win, hosts were tottering at 136/9 in the 40th over. They were staring at a comprehensive defeat but Mehidy Hasan (38* off 39 balls) turned out to be a hero with the bat, sharing an unbeaten 51-run partnership for the last wicket with Mustafizur Rahman (10*) to take Bangladesh over the line with four overs to spare.
The visitors also erred on the field and the most costly one was the drop catch of Mehidy by Rahul during the 43rd over of Bangladesh's innings.
“That’s cricket right. You have to expect the unexpected. As long as cricket has been played, these kind of things keep happening. They fought very well till the end and the couple of dropped catches and that innings from Mehidy,” Rahul said.
On the personal front, KL Rahul was satisfied after scoring runs on a tricky pitch.
“One of those days where it looked like I was timing the ball better (than others). The shots I picked fortunately went to boundary, every option that I picked went my way,” he said.
“Such innings gives you joy as a batter as you are challenged and you put your hand up when team requires. Ideally, we should have got 40 runs more. I did fancy 230-240 if I batted till end or even if I could have batted till 40th over.”
(With PTI inputs)
