‘KL Rahul might find it difficult…’ – Gautam Gambhir breaks down India’s top-order going forward

Former India opener, Gautam Gambhir thinks that KL Rahul will find it challenging to establish himself in the starting XI going forward. Regardless of his batting position in white-ball cricket, the hitter from Karnataka confronts tough competition from his fellow compatriots.

Rahul’s return to the top of the order in ODI cricket has all but been eliminated by the rise of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. In the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, he batted in the middle order and kept wickets in place of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav.

The battle among the remaining aspirants for the batting places after Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer heats up because they may have effectively sealed their spots.

Gambhir told Star Sports that Kishan’s recent success has made the road more difficult for Rahul.

“Probably, KL Rahul might find it difficult to make it in the scheme of things, with the kind of form Ishan Kishan is in.”

KL Rahul should bat at the top of the order

By smashing a record double-century during the ODI series in Bangladesh, Kishan just made a statement. He becomes the top left-handed batting option with Shikhar Dhawan appearing to be out of the picture.

Over the years, team India has relied heavily on the opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. However, the duo came under fire for their cautious batting, especially during the 20-20 World Cup.

In the following T20I series against New Zealand, Kishan and Pant batted first, and another new duo may be in store for the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka. Gambhir noted that if Rahul and Kohli are in the starting XI, they must be among the top-three in the batting order.

“It is a Catch-22 situation, whether you want to go with these youngsters and build a completely new T20 situation, which won’t be a bad option anyways. If you want to continue with KL Rahul, you will have to make him bat at the top of the order and Kohli at No.3. More importantly, if this young side, that the selectors have picked starts doing really well, it is going to be unfortunate for all these youngsters to miss out on that big event.”