India vs England 2021: “Dropping will not do favors” – Gautam Gambhir says KL Rahul should not have been dropped


India vs England 2021: “Dropping will not do favors” – Gautam Gambhir says KL Rahul should not have been dropped

Gautam Gambhir and KL Rahul

KL Rahul who was going through a lean patch in the recently concluded T20I series against England was dropped by India for the fifth and decisive T20I. He had returned scores of 0, 1, 0 and 14 in the fourth match that he played and was also guilty of batting too slowly. The same led to India brining in an extra bowler in the form of T Natarajan that allowed Virat Kohli to open the innings – a move that worked wonders.

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Rahul has been one of India’s most consistent T20I players over the course of the last two years or so. Therefore, it was no surprise that the Indian management – batting coach Vikram Rathour as well as skipper Kohli stated that he would be backed. Now that Rahul was dropped for the fifth match and the new opening pair performed well, it remains to be seen how India’s team would look at the T20 World Cup.

Gautam Gambhir on KL Rahul’s dropping

KL Rahul
KL Rahul

Gautam Gambhir spoke on ESPNcricinfo about KL Rahul’s dropping and criticized the move saying, “Dropping anyone will not do them any favour. He (Rahul) will have to play three ODIs. Someone is out of form, the only way you can bring them back is by giving them more opportunities. Because when you are sitting on the bench, it is not a good feeling. Because you know you have been dropped, and that feeling is not the best feeling.”

“India went with six bowlers, I completely agree with that. Because India were always one bowler short. And the only way that could have been done was by dropping KL Rahul and picking a bowler. And that’s what they have done. But ideally, they should have given him another game. But they could not have fit him with six bowlers, had KL Rahul played this game,” he signed off.

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India’s focus will now shift to the ODI series that is set to begin on the 23rd of March in Pune.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: England announce squad for ODIs, no Jofra Archer and Joe Root