Former India cricketer Maninder Singh has advised flamboyant opener KL Rahul to bat with a fearless approach in white-ball cricket to display his class. Rahul has been under a lot of scanners after his below-par show in the recently concluded T20 World Cup where he failed in the crucial matches against Pakistan, South Africa and England (in semifinal). The 30-year-old didn’t look at his best as he struggled to get going in the initial overs as a result India failed to get a quick start in the powerplay.
Rahul sustained an injury during IPL this year and missed crucial series against South Africa, England and West Indies after the cash-rich league. However, he returned to the team on the Zimbabwe tour.
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He played a couple of impressive knocks in the build-up to T20 World Cup but he struggled on the bouncy Australian tracks.
While Maninder suggested that even a vice-captain can be dropped from the squad if he fails to perform.
“KL Rahul seems to have gone into a shell since the Zimbabwe series. He has to come out of it as we know what kind of a classy cricketer he is. You can’t even use up 5-6 overs upfront in ODI cricket. He needs to take a fearless approach in T20 and ODI cricket. You can be dropped even if you’re a vice-captain,” Maninder said in a media interaction arranged by Sony Sports Network ahead of the ODI series against Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Maninder is highly impressed with the emergence of young opener Shubman Gill who has scored consistently well in ODIs this year. The veteran spinner feels that India should accommodate Shubman in all three formats as he has the fearless approach to take on the opposition.
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“Shubman Gill looks like a different class of player from others. He needs to play consistently for India across formats as he has done well in Tests, ODIs and even in T20 cricket whenever he got a chance. You should open with him in white-ball cricket and have him at No.3-5 in the middle order in Tests. He has that fearless approach that is necessary going forward,” Maninder said.
However, Shubman is not part of India’s ODI series against Bangladesh as he will return to the side for the crucial Test series.
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