KL Rahul is not very experienced captain, especially at international level: Wasim Jaffer

Former India international Wasim Jaffer didn’t hold back and questioned KL Rahul’s captaincy after India’s loss to Bangladesh in the second ODI of the series. Soon after Rohit Sharma left the field after suffering a blow on his thumb, Rahul stepped in but couldn’t help the team get the much-needed win at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Despite a good start from the Men in Blue, the Bangla Tigers posted 271/7 after 50 overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (100*) and Mahmudullah (77) looked rock solid in the middle and that helped Bangladesh put a match-winning total on board as India in the end lost the match by five runs.

Giving credit to the Bangladeshi cricketers, Jaffer believes that India lacked an experienced skipper in the middle. KL Rahul has vast experience in the Indian Premier League, but when it comes to international cricket, the 30-year-old has barely got enough opportunities. Thus, Jaffer assumes that it might have played a role but isn’t ready to give that as an excuse.

“We had good bowlers in Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel. Umran Malik also did well, but Bangladesh had the answers to all the questions. They batted wonderfully well and rotated the strike nicely. It’s difficult when your captain is in (not on the field) and the keeper has to lead. KL Rahul is not a very experienced captain, especially at the international level. That may have had an effect, but that can’t be an excuse. You’ve got to give credit to Bangladesh,” Jaffer said while talking to ESPNcricinfo.

Rohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Sen are ruled out of the third ODI

Despite him playing an extraordinary innings in the second ODI, Indian captain Rohit Sharma will not be featuring in the third match and might also miss the first Test because of the thumb injury he suffered in the last match. As per reports, Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to replace him in case Sharma gets ruled out.

When it comes to the bowling department, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were already ruled out because of their respective injuries and now, Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Sen have suffered the same fate. With Kuldeep Yadav added to India's squad for the final ODI against Bangladesh, it is likely that the Men in Blue will slot him straight into the playing XI in Chattogram.