KL Rahul’s spot in the Indian team came under the scanner after his failure in the first two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests against Australia.

Despite his scores of 22, 23, 10 and 2 in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in December 2022, Rahul was preferred in India’s starting XI over the in-form Shubman Gill.

However, the right-hander failed to repay the faith of the team management, registering scores of 20, 17 and 1 across the three innings in Nagpur and Delhi. As a result, he is drawing flak from the fans and experts, with many of them questioning his place in the side.

Amid the criticism, former India opener Gautam Gambhir has come out in the defence of KL Rahul, saying that it is unfair to single out any player.

“KL Rahul should not be dropped from the Indian side. One should not single out any player. Everyone goes through a lean patch. No one, no cricket pundit or anyone should tell him that he is not doing well and be dropped,” he told PTI during an interaction.

Gambhir also cited current India skipper Rohit Sharma’s example of how he was backed to the hilt by the erstwhile team management.

“You have to back players who have talent. Look at Rohit Sharma. He also had a lean patch. Look at the way he started his career. He had a late flourish. Compared (earlier times) to how he is performing now. Everyone could see his talent and backed him. Now see the result. He is going great guns. Rahul can do the same,” he added.

Having won the first two Tests, Team India have taken an unassailable lead in the four-match series and also retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Gambhir feels it is not a good idea to tinker with the winning combination and single out one player for harsh treatment.

“India is 2-0 up and not 0-2 down. So let’s not axe anyone and appreciate the team’s performance. I think the Indian team management is right in backing KL Rahul. He is a great player. He had scored runs in international cricket.”

The third Test is slated to be held in Indore from March 1.

(With PTI Inputs)