Watch: KL Rahul displays exquisite glovework in India's practice session
In a new video released by BCCI on their official Twitter account, KL Rahul can be seen displaying some gilt-edged glovework whilst keeping wickets to Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini.
In his pre-match press conference yesterday, Indian team skipper Virat Kohli confirmed that the team were set to persist with Rahul as the first-choice wicket-keeper for the New Zealand tour, courtesy his impressive performances behind the stumps in the recently-concluded series against Australia.
Rahul was entrusted with keeping duties after Rishabh Pant suffered a concussion in the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai. The Kings XI Punjab star assumed the responsibility bestowed on him and performed brilliantly throughout the series.
His nifty work to dismiss Aaron Finch in the second ODI in Rajkot was particularly impressive, whilst his form with the bat throughout the series was also hugely encouraging.
Speaking about continuing with Rahul as the main wicket-keeping option against the Kiwis, Kohli said:
“Him [Rahul] doing really well with the gloves has opened up another scenario for us where it gives us a lot more balance in playing an extra batter.
“If he can ‘keep and bat that well then why not have an extra batsman in the playing XI. This is something we are looking to continue with for a while. Not to take anything away from anyone else, this just brings the best balance to the side. I know there will be a lot of talk around what will now happen to some other players, but for us, the most important thing is what the team requires and the best balance we can create as a side.”