Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir is often caught at the receiving end of varying statements these days. Gambhir, who backed wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul to come out of an elongated lean patch around seven months ago, has now categorically put him down the pecking order regarding the Indian cricket team.
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Gambhir, who is a firm believer of prioritizing form over reputation, wants wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan to be India’s first-choice man behind the stumps during ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. On the back of his past record at No. 5, Rahul is currently said to be India’s preferred option in spite of having not played a competitive match in over four months now.
Gautam Gambhir Wants Ishan Kishan To Bat At No. 5 During 2023 World Cup
Leading Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul had last played against Royal Challengers Bangalore in a league match of the 16th season of the IPL in May this year. Since then, he has been on the sidelines due to an injury. For the very same reason, Gambhir doesn’t want him to take a crucial No. 5 role without proving his form with the bat.
Kishan, on the other hand, has scored four consecutive ODI half-centuries to prove his mettle both as an opener and a middle-order batter. Part of a star-studded commentary panel for host broadcaster Star Sports during the ongoing Asia Cup, Gambhir initiated a debate with former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif, who wants Rahul to resume his No. 5 role from the word go.
Gambhir insisted that a player scoring runs constantly should not be dropped. He cited the example of the senior duo in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli asking whether they would be dropped after scoring runs.
“I feel Ishan Kishan has done everything he needs to do to be a frontrunner [for No. 5]. Tell me something, what is more important to win a championship — name or form? If Rohit [Sharma] or Virat [Kohli] had scored something similar, would you still say that KL Rahul would replace them?”
It is worth noting that Gambhir is the mentor of Rahul-led LSG in the Indian Premier League. Hence, it is quite rare for a mentor to speak critically about his own team’s captain publicly. In what is a rare trait, it makes Gambhir, who seldom minces his words, a popular figure among fans.
Gautam Gambhir Had Backed KL Rahul Before IPL 2023
In March 2023, Rahul was facing a lot of criticism from all corners because of his poor form with the bat. Apart from being removed as the vice-captain, he was also dropped from the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 Test matches.
Gambhir, who had fully supported Rahul during a low phase, went on to mention that former cricketers need “masala” to stay relevant with respect to their media careers. It is worth noting that former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad was arguably Rahul’s biggest critic at the time.
Speaking to Sports Today, Gambhir had mentioned that Rahul won’t be under any kind of pressure during IPL 2023. He revealed how both international cricket and IPL are very different from each other. He further reminded how Rahul has always performed well for the franchise and will have the full support of the team.
“As far as KL Rahul is concerned, I don’t think he is under any kind of pressure. If you don’t perform well in international cricket despite scoring 1,000 runs in the IPL, you will still have to deal with criticism. And that’s international cricket for you. After all, only 15 players get a chance to play for India. In the IPL, more than 150 players are selected. Thus, you should not compare these two.”
If truth be told, one understands Gambhir’s point of view despite him contradicting himself on paper. Even though the man dismissed Kaif’s opinion during the interaction, no sane person would do the same with Gambhir because Kishan has made the most of opportunities given to him.
On the other hand, Rahul hasn’t even prove his match fitness at the highest level. Furthermore, Gambhir had backed Rahul in a general way ahead of an IPL season earlier this year and not with respect to India’s wicket-keeper batter before a World Cup.
