WTC Final: Former India domestic batter says KL Rahul was ‘never an option’ to be in playing XI

Former India domestic batter Amol Mazumdar has said that KL Rahul was never an option to replace Rishabh Pant in India’s playing XI for WTC final vs Australia in England in June. The cricketer said the team needs a genuine wicket-keeper in English conditions and KL Rahul doesn’t fit the bill.

“I’ll stick with what I said. You need genuine keeper who can bat a little. KL Rahul was never an option, for me, at least, in Test matches. It’s okay for T20 or a fifty-over match, but for Test – especially in England – where the ball nibbles around, you need a genuine keeper,” told Mazumdar to sports website ESPNCricinfo.

Notably, KL Rahul – who is skipper of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has been ruled out of the season and WTC final after picking up an injury in LSG match against RCB.

“Looking at the situation, what has happened to Rahul is unfortunate. But I would be inclined to include Ishan Kishan in the team, looking at his form. Why we talked about KL Rahul and KS Bharat… is because of the unfortunate incident to Rishabh Pant. Now, if you want a man-to-man replacement, you can’t get any closer to Pant than Ishan Kishan. So, he comes into my team. He should be included,” Muzumdar added.

Rahul, while he played in the IPL 2023, couldn’t create much of an impact as he scored only 274 runs in the nine matches at an average of 34.25 with a strike-rate of 113.22 Rahul, however, had scored two fifties this season with a highest score of 74. The LSG skipper was dropped from the Test team against Australia prior to IPL after playing in first two Tests.

Rahul’s replacement Shubman Gill, meanwhile, scored a century in the two Tests he played, making it even difficult for Rahul to be a part playing XI in Tests for India.

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