"Whoever you drop, it will be an injustice to him" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's return for the 2nd India vs West Indies ODI
Aakash Chopra believes whichever Indian player misses out on the second ODI against West Indies due to the return of KL Rahul will be wronged.
Rahul missed the first ODI against the Windies due to personal reasons. However, the Indian limited-overs vice-captain is back in the mix for the second game and should walk into the XI.
Reflecting on the scenario in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opined that injustice would be meted out to the player who is made to sit out. He reasoned:
"When KL Rahul comes into the team, who will go out? Ishan Kishan will be made to sit out or will Suryakumar Yadav or Deepak Hooda be moved from the middle order? Whoever you drop, it will be an injustice to him because he got to play just one match and after that, you bid him goodbye."
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Rahul should ideally play in the middle order if that is going to be his position in the long run. Chopra explained:
"Ishan Kishan played as an opener and it is possible if you see long term, Shikhar Dhawan with Rohit Sharma in ODIs and KL Rahul in the middle order. So if you see from that angle, keep him wherever he has to play in the future and let Ishan Kishan play."
Rahul is likely to bat at No. 4 or No. 5 in ODI cricket if Team India opt to stick with the opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. It would certainly be advisable for him to take one of the middle-order berths in the ongoing series as well in such a scenario.
"Don't touch Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant" - Aakash Chopra feels KL Rahul should open
However, Aakash Chopra believes Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant should be persisted with in the middle order. He elaborated:
"But if you are trying to solve the middle-order problems, don't touch Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant. Let them play there because if you don't give them chances, how will you come to know, once Shreyas Iyer is fit, you won't be able to play Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and all together."
The 44-year-old concluded by saying that Rahul should replace Ishan Kishan in the playing XI. Chopra observed:
"My verdict is that KL Rahul should open, make Ishan Kishan sit out, unfortunate as it may be. Don't change the middle order, that's what I feel. Rahul comes in, Ishan Kishan goes out."
now that KL rahul is coming into the team today, the only one they can replace him with right now is Ishan Kishan. But it is unfair to just drop him after one game.
Rahul has tended to bat conservatively at the top of the order, as was seen in the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa. With Team India looking to embrace a slightly more aggressive brand of cricket in ODIs, playing a more explosive opener like Kishan with Rohit might yield better results.