Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar on Monday (March 23) endorsed India’s decision to bat KL Rahul in the middle-order in ODIs but suggested that the team management must look for batsmen like Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
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During the three-ODI series against Australia in January, Rahul batted at No. 5 in one game and registered the score of 52-ball 80.
The stylish right-hander did even better during the 50-over series in New Zealand a month later. He recorded the scores of 64-ball 88*, 4 and 113-ball 112 against the Kiwis.
Manjrekar, who has represented India in 37 tests and 74 ODIs, was conducting a Question-Answer session on Twitter wherein a fan asked him: “Sir, We saw KL Rahul batting at No:5 in the ODis recently and he was successful at the position, Do you think india should stick with KL at 5? Or Can you find other batsman other than KL to be right in that position at 5?”
To which, Sanjay replied: “For the moment he is the right fit. But we must keep looking for a Raina and Yuvi kind of batsman when Rahul eventually moves to the top.”
The former Mumbai batsman was also asked to pick his No. 4 batsman and an all-rounder for the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in Australia later this year. And he decided to go with Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya respectively.