Indian captain Virat Kohli has on Thursday (January 23) confirmed that KL Rahul will continue to keep wickets in the upcoming five-match T20 International series in New Zealand starting Friday (January 24) in Auckland.
He believes that Rahul as a wicket-keeper batsman offers him an option of playing an extra batsman in the playing XI and they are thinking to stick with the idea after Karnataka batsman’s brilliant outing with gloves in the home ODIs against Australia recently.
The opening batsman was asked to fill in the wicket-keeping role after a concussion to Rishabh Pant in the first ODI and he made the most of the opportunity while batting at different positions in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Australia.
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He scored 47 off 61 balls at No. 3, and 80 off 52 balls at No. 5, though he could manage only 19 runs as an opener in the final ODI his work behind the stump was commendable in the home series.
Parsing his brilliant show against the Kangaroos, Kohli said Rahul has been "doing really well with the [keeping] gloves" that has "opened up another kind of scenario" for the team.
As per reports in ESPNcricinfo, Kohli said on Thursday: “[Dhawan's injury] will certainly alter a few plans for us… in the one-day game, we'll have to think of sticking to the same what we did in Rajkot (in the second ODI), that will probably work best for us as a side, have another guy at the top and let KL just express himself at that position where he played really well.”
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The skipper further explained, “In T20 cricket, obviously the dynamics change a little bit more because we do have lower-order batsmen who have done well. We have a few more options there in terms of solidifying that spot and probably let KL bat at the top.
Him doing really well with the gloves has really opened up another kind of scenario for us where it gives us a lot more balance in terms of playing an extra batter. If he can keep that well, and perform well with the bat, then why not? As I said, this is something that we are looking to continue for a while. And nothing taken away from anyone else, it's just what brings the best balance to the side.”
Calling Rahul a total team man, Kohli said of his batting ability: “It's amazing. He is open to accepting any kind of role, whatever the team wants - he is a total team man and you can tell the way he keeps as well. He is always looking for an opportunity and looking to make a play, and he is not nervous about it; the collection of throws and getting to the stumps every ball, and he is just in the game.”
He signed off by saying, “I think he relishes that much more than just being on the field and it's showing. He is more involved in the game, he is able to look at the field placements as well, so I think it engages him into the game in the right manner. It's wonderful to have a guy who can do both things well and bring balance to the team.”
(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)
