"I think he has cemented his place for the World Cup" - Virat Kohli's coach on KL Rahul's performance in IND vs AUS 1st ODI
Former Delhi cricketer and Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes KL Rahul has almost confirmed his place in India's World Cup squad after a fantastic performance against Australia in the first ODI in Mumbai.
Due to inconsistent form in T20Is and Tests, questions were being raised about Rahul's place even in ODIs. However, the right-hander proved once again why he has settled well in the No. 5 position with another dependable innings under pressure.
India were 16/3 while chasing 189 runs to win, and KL Rahul's unbeaten 75 ensured that they won the game with five wickets in hand.
Speaking to India News after the first ODI, here's what Rajkumar Sharma had to say about KL Rahul's performance as a wicketkeeper-batter:
"As a cricketer, you don't want to show that criticism affects you, but somewhere Rahul would have known that he is under scrutiny. Talks about him being dropped with a second line of players ready to take that spot would also have built pressure on him. But I think he has cemented his place for the World Cup and could be our first-choice wicketkeeper if Pant is unavailable."
Wasn't expecting KL Rahul to keep wickets: Rajkumar Sharma
Rajkumar Sharma also lauded Rahul's efforts behind the stumps. He shed light on how Rahul saved extras and also took an incredible catch. Sharma feels that doing well with the gloves possibly gave Rahul some confidence going into the second innings.
On this, Rajkumar stated:
"I wasn't expecting KL Rahul to keep wickets. I thought Ishan Kishan will do it since he is a regular keeper. But some of the deliveries Rahul stopped were so wide that even regular wicketkeepers wouldn't have stopped that. He also took a brilliant catch and that confidence was seen in his batting."
Pointing out that Rahul repaid the faith shown in him by the team management, he added:
"India were 15/3 (16/3) losing early wickets and that's when Rahul played a brilliant knock. There were questions raised about his place in the team and even vice-captaincy was taken away from him. But the team management showed faith in him and he has repaid the persistence shown with him."
India will play their second ODI against Australia in Vizag on Sunday, March 19.