- Mar 4, 2024
- Jan 17, 2023
Star India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul made a remarkable comeback against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023. In his comeback innings, Rahul smashed a beautiful century and stitched a 200+ run partnership with Virat Kohli. With his amazing batting performance in the Asia Cup 2023, Rahul shut down critics and cemented his place in the XI.
Meanwhile, former India batter and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir praised KL Rahul. Gambhir said that Rahul provides much-needed strength to the batting order with his performances. He also said that Rahul has established himself as the best number 4 for India in one-day cricket. “The most important thing is stability. You need a batter at No. 4 who can give you stability because you don’t want to put the entire pressure on your top three. KL Rahul provides you with that stability,” said Gambhir.
“KL Rahul has the ability and the shots where he can change his batting tempo at any time. However, more important than that was that he scored a century in his first game against Pakistan after coming back from injury, and he looked in a totally different rhythm after that,” Gambhir further added. It’s worth noting that in his comeback innings, Rahul scored an unbeaten 111 runs off 116 balls against a fiery Pakistan.
It is worth noting that Rahul was included in the playing XI against Pakistan after Shreyas Iyer pulled off an injury. He was informed five minutes prior to the toss by team management that he would face arch-rivals. However, Gambhir believes that this was a blessing in disguise for Rahul. He said, “Whoever has played international cricket for a very long time will know that you need one inning and your entire rhythm, confidence, and mindset will change. The good thing was that he was told only five minutes before. If he had been told a day ago, he might have been thinking a lot, and when you think too much, you go into a shell.”
Meanwhile, as India is set to face Australia in a three-match ODI series, team management has asked Rahul to lead the team. In the absence of senior players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Rahul will lead the team in the first two matches. In the third game, Rohit will make a comeback and lead the full-fledged team. This will be another chance for Rahul to prove himself as the best wicketkeeper-batter for the team.
Here is how fans react to Gautam Gambhir’s comments:
Gambhir is right
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) September 18, 2023
Bhai yeah KL Raul ka PR aur top players se reach jabardast hai…
Kabhi Venky se tarif karwata hai toh kabhi Gambhir se.
Suniel Shetty ka pura paise isko promote karne pe chala gaya.
— Sunny (@being_sunny1) September 18, 2023
He also mentioned how it would be unfair on Kishan to drop him once Rahul returns after the first Pak game. So, he wanted Rahul to be dropped and Kishan to be in xi.
— Yogesh (@yogeshontop) September 18, 2023
He can open,he can bat at 4,he can bat at 5,he can wicket keeping…he is like Rahul Dravid if u tell him to walk on the water he'll ask how many kilometres
— Hussain (@imhussy92) September 18, 2023
unreal comeback for kl rahul
— Brain (@brain_detail) September 18, 2023
We need to see that …he played well in the Asia cup and needs to keep that going …
— sashank anand (@SaiyanGuitarist) September 18, 2023
he batted beautifully in concluded Asia cup
— anees ur rehman (@an33s) September 18, 2023
Gautam Gambhir ko lagta hai is baar jyada footage nahi mila…ab woh cover kar raha hai…but damage has been done…he should have behaved well with audience
— Ankit Khanna (@ankit_khanna) September 18, 2023
This is the same Gambhir who opposed Kl's comeback for Ishan
— Pallavi (@Pallavi_paul21) September 18, 2023
he is a commentator, this is his job to swing the pendulum left and right to the needs of the situation.
— ORI_FCB 🗣️ (@Orient1300) September 18, 2023