India vs England: India drop KL Rahul; bring in T Natarajan for final T20I

India vs England: India drop KL Rahul; bring in T Natarajan for final T20I

KL Rahul

India have dropped out-of-form opener KL Rahul from the side for the fifth and final T20I against England in Ahmedabad. Instead of going for a like-for-like replacement, they have gone with pacer T Natarajan. The change was anticipated by fans and former cricketers due to Rahul’s poor returns and with him being low on confidence. Natarajan was back with the Indian team during the last game after clearing a fitness test and now he has drafted straight in to the side.

The final T20I will be the series-deciding one as both India and England have gone neck and neck in the series which is locked at 2-2. Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup which will be held later this year in India, a series win here would be a massive confidence and morale-booster for both sides.

England put India in to bat

Eoin Morgan and Virat Kohli
Eoin Morgan and Virat Kohli

England’s skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss for the fourth time in the series and put India in to bat first. England did not make any change to their playing 11. India had the one change in Natarajan coming in for Rahul.

Speaking at the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said, “Pretty happy, we would have bowled first as well. Looks like an even better pitch than the last game. As a side you understand the areas we need to improve and if we can get confident defending totals, this is something we are looking to execute well. We have made one change today. Wanted to bring in good balance with bat and ball. I will be moving up the order and Suryakumar is that X factor player in our team and we want to give him as many games as possible. KL Rahul misses out and Natarajan comes in for him.”

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