Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif said that he’s not concerned about KL Rahul’s poor outing in the second ODI against Zimbabwe. He also lauded the batter for going to the nets right after his brief knock.
India had a sensational outing in the second ODI against Zimbabwe on Saturday (August 20) as they thumped the hosts by 5 wickets to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.
From Rahul’s perspective, it was a perfect game for him as the skipper of the team but not a fruitful one with the bat. Chasing the target of 162 runs, the right-hander promoted himself and opened the innings to get some game time ahead of the Asia Cup.
Rahul, who is returning from an injury, was dismissed cheaply for just 1 run as missed the ball that struck him in front of his stumps off the bowling of Victor Nyauchi.
Speaking to Sony Sports, Mohammad Kaif said that he’s not concerned about Rahul’s form and that such failures happen after coming back from injury. Calling him a classy batter, he said that his dismissal doesn’t make much difference.
"Such things happen, he is coming back after a long time. I am not worried about his form, he is a class batter. He got out today, it does not make a difference. It was a pitched-up delivery that came in after pitching and you can get dismissed against the new ball anytime," Kaif said.
As the match ended, Rahul was seen with his pads as he went for practice in the nets after failing to spend much time in the middle.
Kaif lauded him for going to the nets soon after his failure and said that the batter is trying to be in touch and get his rhythm back.
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"He is a fantastic batter. He was going for knocking when the match got over. He had the pads in his hands and was going straight to the nets. He is trying to be in touch, get the rhythm back,” he said.
Kaif added: “When he got injured during the IPL, there also he was in form. He scored runs in every match, scored two centuries also in the IPL against the Mumbai Indians, so he was in great form. He is a class batter, he is scoring hundreds in Test matches. He has scored runs in every format,” he said.
Kaif said that Rahul should spend some time in the middle in the last game and get his touch back.
"There is one more match. So he should spend some time when he comes to bat there, struggle a little, there will be appeals, he might get beaten by an odd delivery. Every batter has such a phase in his life when he is coming back from injury. But I will not be too concerned by him getting out in today’s match," he said.
The dead-rubber third ODI between Zimbabwe and India will be played on Monday (22nd August) in Harare.
(Sony Sports inputs)
