'What India Are Doing With Rahul Isn’t Fair': Srikkanth BLASTS Gambhir And Co

India have already attained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series against England, and you would assume that everything is hunky dory for the Men in Blue. However, there’s a big concern: the form of their middle-order mainstay, KL Rahul. 

Rahul, who starred for India in that tricky No.5 role in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup, was demoted in the batting order after Gautam Gambhir took over as the head coach. That has directly or indirectly affected the right-hander’s ODI format, with him posting scores of 31, 0, 2 and 10 in his last four innings. 

Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth didn’t spare Gambhir or the management either, blasting them for making Rahul bat lower than No.5. 

“I feel so bad for KL Rahul, Axar Patel is hitting well. What they are doing with Rahul isn’t fair; look at his record. He has a brilliant record at No.5, and not a lot of people can match that. I don’t know what the team management is doing with him, they are pushing him to No.6, where he’s scoring just six or seven,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel. 

Srikkanth pointed fingers at the Indian coach, stating that India are ‘WASTING’ Rahul’s potential at No.6, and even went on to argue why India don’t use a left-right combination in the top four but only do at No.5. 

“[Gautam] Gambhir, what you are doing isn’t fair. It is not at all right. It is very unfair. In a crucial contest in the Champions Trophy, there is a good chance that Rahul might not be in form. You don’t need a left-right combination in the top four, but you need it after that. It is very unfair. Why waste KL Rahul at No.6? Play Rishabh Pant instead. Because of this, they might even drop Rahul, absolutely unfair to Rahul,” Srikkanth fumed. 

“See, you have to play your best player at No.5, that’s all. It doesn’t matter if he’s a right-hander, left-hander, or middle-hander. I DON’T CARE! The whole thought process is flawed. It might work now but it might not work in the long run. India should just play their best batter at No.5 and not tinker too much with the winning combination.”

Across 30 appearances at No.5, Rahul has an impressive record with 1259 runs, averaging 57.22, almost ten runs more than his career average with a strike rate of 95.45. 

“Don’t play around with someone else’s position, what has Rahul done wrong? India are playing with someone’s form, and it might get costly at some point in the future. Sri Lanka kicked them out with 3-0, and India should learn from that," Srikanth added.