KL Rahul has been under scrutiny ever since India have lost the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru last week. For the first time since 1988, New Zealand defeated India in the longest format of the game and Rahul's place seemed to be under threat again, especially with Sarfaraz Khan smashing 150 in the second innings.
Shubman Gill has recovered from neck stiffness and is set to return to bat at number three which means Rahul and Sarfaraz will fight for the lone spot in the batting line-up. While India are yet to decide on the playing XI, head coach Gautam Gambhir's statement has suggested that the management will continue to back KL Rahul despite immense criticism.
"You don't pick players on social media because of social media or for that matter even what the experts are saying. What the team management thinks and what the leadership group thinks is very, very important. Ultimately, everyone is judged. International cricket is all about being judged, to be honest, because everyone's performance will be judged eventually.
"But I feel that he [Rahul] is batting really well. Obviously, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur [against Bangladesh] obviously, on a difficult wicket. And obviously, he played according to the plans as well. And I am sure, I think, he would also be knowing that he wants to score big runs and he has that capability of scoring runs. That's why he has been backed by the team management," the India head coach said.
Interestingly, there could also be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and the newly added Washington Sundar in the playing XI with the hosts likely to look for depth in batting. Moreover, Gambhir also stated that Sundar's was added to the squad to tackle the left-handed Kiwi batters.
"We just felt that probably they [New Zealand] have four or five left-handers in the playing XI. That if we want to have another bowler who can take the ball away from the left-handers, it is always going to be useful for us. But we haven't yet decided what is going to be the playing XI. We believe that probably there are two [left-hand] opening batters and Rachin [Ravindra] in the middle order. So, we feel that if Washy can give us more control in the middle, it is always going to be good for us," he added.
