Former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that India can achieve two things by having white-ball vice-captain KL Rahul bat in the middle order in the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The ODI contest begins from February 6 onwards and all matches will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, behind closed doors.
Speaking on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Chopra also put young keeper Rishabh Pant on notice by saying that KL Rahul might also play as keeper if needed. Chopra further said that Rahul batting in the middle order will put pressure on Rishabh Pant to bat well.
"The World Cup is one-and-a-half years away and we have seen a lot of things change in three months, this has been the story of Indian cricket of late. He [Rahul] will have to play in the middle order now. When he plays in the middle order, I feel he will put some pressure on Rishabh Pant as well," he said.
Chopra said the fact that KL Rahul had once replaced Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper in the Indian ODI and T20I team and he coming back into the middle order will only add to Pant’s concern and help him become a more responsible batter.
"He [Pant] will need to be consistent. You can kill two birds with one stone because when KL Rahul had batted in the middle order in ODI cricket, he was playing as a wicketkeeper. He had performed that role well although he was given a chance to do that in very few matches," he added.
In the recent series against South Africa, Pant scored 101 runs in three innings, which included the knock of 85 in the second ODI and a duck in the third match. Since the 2019 World Cup, Pant has featured in 12 ODIs, scoring 421 runs at 38.27 with four half-centuries.
KL Rahul will miss the first ODI as he will be attending his sister’s wedding. With Shikhar Dhawan out of the ODI series after testing positive for COVID-19; it remains to be seen whether Rahul opens the innings in the remaining two ODIs, or Indian team management goes with either Mayank Agarwal or Ishan Kishan as a partner to open with Rohit Sharma.
