Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim explains which will be KL Rahul’s best position to play in the 50-over format game.
As of now, the Indian cricket team has been scheduled to tour Bangladesh to play 3 ODIs and 2 Test matches between December 4 – 26. Notably, India will be playing their last Test match of the series while BCCI hosts the IPL 2023 players auction on December 23.
Saba Karim Praises KL Rahul
Saba Karim, in a select media interaction ahead of the start of the series, shared his opinion on the topic while speaking to a media. When asked about the newcomers like Rajat Patidar and Rahul Tripathi, Saba said that such youngsters need to be encouraged.
“I am not looking so far at this stage,” Saba said when asked about building a team for the 2023 ODI World Cup. “These two are exciting talents. I’ve talked about the need to restructure the way we white-ball cricket.
It is not a bad idea to try out a few youngsters and see whether they fit into that kind of a template or not. I think these are good times for such cricketers to come through the system. They’ve done well in the IPL, they’ve done well in white-ball cricket at the domestic level. Such people need to be encouraged.”
“We first need to wait for the selection committee to come in. The selection committee, along with the team management, need to work out a strategy they have in mind, leading up to the World Cup,” he added.
When asked about the best position for KL Rahul, Saba said that he sees the Karnataka lad as more of an opening alternative to Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, rather than a middle-order player in the 50-over format.
“I look at him more as an opening alternative for Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. He has done well for India as an opener. He is such a classy player. It’s just a matter of time for him to strike form.
But, I really don’t know what number he will bat. If not an opener, do we use him as a middle-order batter. Can we give him a long rope there? There are so many other contenders in the frame. Right now, that’s the kind of ambiguity I see in the current 15.
That’s something that needs to be settled as soon as possible by the team management and the captain,” he opined.
KL Rahul has so far played 45 ODIs for India and scored 1665 runs at an average of 45 with the highest score of 112 runs.
