KL Rahul will be proper middle-order batsman for fifty-over World Cup: Dinesh Karthik

With the likes of captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul returning to ODIs after a break, there’s a selection-related query that the team management needs to answer ahead of their first ODI against Bangladesh at Mirpur on Sunday.

The Men in Blue have suffered a lot with the number four position in the 2019 ODI World Cup and can’t afford to commit the same error in the next 50-over World Cup. Thus, a conclusion needs to be drawn with the number five position this time where KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are currently fighting it out to make it into the XI.

The veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik however bats for KL Rahul and believes that the 30-year-old should get the nod ahead of Pant in the first ODI. Pant, who had a pretty poor season with the bat in the last couple of months, looks to have lost his place as Karthik believes India should consider Rahul as he can be a proper middle-order batter for India in the ODI World Cup.

“(Number) five is where we need to discuss. There will be toss-up between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. I have a feeling that KL Rahul will play, for sure. Pant, I think, has taken a long flight from New Zealand and has landed as we speak. KL Rahul will be a proper middle-order batsman for the fifty-over World Cup. If that happens, they will fit him at number five,” Karthik said while talking to Cricbuzz.

In the meantime, KL Rahul like Rishabh Pant was heavily criticised in recent times. His performance in the T20 World Cup was below par as the opener scored 128 runs from six matches. He failed to put up a show in crunch situations and eventually a section of the fans wanted the management to drop the cricketer in the semi-final against England.

Pant, on the other hand, was picked ahead of Sanju Samson in the series against New Zealand but failed to take advantage of the opportunities. The 25-year-old could score only 25 runs from the two innings he batted as India lost the series by 1-0.