"It should hurt you when you watch someone else play in your place" - Gautam Gambhir on KL Rahul
Former opener Gautam Gambhir believes that Team India's KL Rahul is bound to be disappointed after losing his place in the playing XI during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
He, however, emphasized that ups and downs are a part of every cricketer's life. Gambhir opined that Rahul doesn't need to prove anything, pointing out that he was the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League.
The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested that Rahul should consider reinventing himself in the upcoming matches to be able to live up to everyone's expectations.
Speaking to Sports Tak, Gambhir said:
"Every player has to go through such phases. Tell me one player who has scored runs consistently throughout his career. These things are a blessing in disguise at times. It should hurt you when you watch someone else play in your place, or when you have to carry drinks. But he is the captain of a franchise, and there's no need for him to prove anything to anyone."
He added:
"He has scored four or five hundreds in the IPL. But if he isn't in the T20 team or in the Test playing XI, he can try to reinvent himself and bat the way his team and country expect him to."
KL Rahul came under scrutiny for his ordinary performances with the bat. The opening batter mustered just 38 runs from three innings. Shubman Gill replaced him in the team for the third Test.
"You could potentially have both of those guys in the same team" - Ricky Ponting on KL Rahul and Shubman Gill
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that India can find a way to accommodate both KL Rahul and Shubman Gill in their playing XI if they reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting highlighted that Rahul has experience of playing in England, where the WTC final will take place. He suggested that Gill could continue to open, and Rahul could be slotted into the middle order.
He explained:
"With someone like KL Rahul having gone out of this side and Shubman Gill having come in, both these guys have played a bit of Test match cricket and you could potentially have both of those guys in the same team."
Punter continued:
"Maybe Shubman could start at the top and KL could potentially move down into the middle order, because he's played cricket in those [English] conditions before, albeit at the top of the order."
Notably, India still haven't secured a place in the WTC final. A victory against Australia in the upcoming fourth Test will be key in terms of their qualification.
The fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from Thursday, March 9.