“Why Was KL Rahul Sent So Low?’ Srikkanth Slams Gill and Gambhir
Kris Srikkanth calls India’s move to send KL Rahul low in the order “absolute rubbish” after India’s rain-hit loss to Australia in the first ODI, criticising team management and Shubman Gill.
Former India captain and ex-BCCI chief selector Kris Srikkanth has strongly criticised India’s team management and Shubman Gill over their handling of KL Rahul in the first ODI against Australia in Perth.
India suffered a rain-hit seven-wicket defeat on October 19, and Srikkanth labelled Rahul being sent so low in the batting order as “absolute rubbish.”
KL Rahul came in at number six after Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal in the 14th over, while Axar Patel was promoted above him. Srikkanth said the move was “absurd” and that Rahul, one of India’s best batters, should have batted higher.
“I told before only that KL Rahul should play ahead of Shreyas Iyer. Axar Patel going higher than KL is absolute rubbish,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth also said that if he were captain, he would have sent Rahul at number four to make the most of his batting skills. He felt Rahul should get the maximum number of deliveries, especially in foreign conditions, to help India post a strong total.
The former selector did not stop at Rahul’s position. He criticised India’s overall batting collapse and questioned the decision to send Nitish Kumar Reddy up the order despite his big-hitting ability.
“If they had gone up to 160 without losing more wickets, the DLS score could have been higher and things might have favoured India. Another mistake was not sending Nitish after KL and Axar got out,” Srikkanth said.
With the second ODI scheduled for October 23 at Adelaide, India will look to bounce back. How Rahul is positioned in the order could play a big role in their chances to salvage pride in the series.
