Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared his two cents on the ongoing competition between KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan for a wicketkeeper-batter spot in the India team ahead of the ODI World Cup, which gets underway in India next month.
Earlier this year, Rahul sustained a thigh injury during an IPL match. Subsequently, he underwent surgery in London and extended rehabilitation at the NCA in Bangalore.
While the wicketkeeper-batter completely recovered from his thigh surgery, he picked up a fresh niggle which ruled him out of the first Asia Cup 2023 matches.
In his absence, Kishan has performed exceptionally well and it will be interesting to see India’s team combination with Rahul now joining the squad after regaining full fitness.
Besides, India have Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav in their ranks for the middle order positions.
"Rahul Dravid will know that both (Rahul and Iyer) are the backbone of the Indian middle order and that they will need game time. Ishan played really well, and that's good because there's healthy competition in the team," Kaif said on Star Sports.
"However, if an in-form player sits out, then it's not a problem because Dravid will want to see Rahul bat at No.5. He has good numbers at No. 5, and you will want him and Iyer to get game time and have that form when they play the first World Cup game against Australia," he added.
Kaif also warned the team management against putting an extra load on players who have recently returned from injuries.
"India have seen what happened with Jasprit Bumrah where he was cleared to play by the NCA but then got injured again. So they will need to be careful with Iyer and Rahul and check on how much they need to play and when they need to take breaks. You don't want to give them too much load before the match begins. That's why Rahul Dravid and the trainers are present there," he remarked.
The Men in Blue are due to face arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Super-4 match of Asia Cup 2023 at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday (September 10).
