T20 World Cup 2022: Can’t keep putting pressure on middle order – Ravi Shastri on KL Rahul

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has urged KL Rahul to strike form against Bangladesh in the crucial encounter of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. Rahul has struggled to get going in the ongoing T20I showpiece and it has definitely put pressure on the middle order.

Rahul could only manage four runs in the opening match against Pakistan and then could only return with scores of nine each against the Netherlands and South Africa.

In fact, Rahul has looked defensive in his approach while opening the innings and he hasn’t been able to make the most of the PowerPlay overs.

“You need some more consistency from the top. KL Rahul getting some runs will help because you can’t keep putting the pressure on the middle order,” said Ravi Shastri on ICC’s ‘The Big Time Preview’.

On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav has been in the form of his life. Yadav scored a fine knock of 51 runs off just 25 balls against the Netherlands and then backed it up with another brilliant knock of 68 runs off just 40 balls against South Africa to help his team post a fighting score of 133 runs on the board.

Talking about Suryakumar, Shastri said: “He is lighting up this world Cup. He is playing shots that no one would have imagined 10 years ago. He is one heck of a player.”

Meanwhile, the Indian openers – KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma – have disappointed with their mundane performances so far in the tournament while Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have done the lion’s share of the scoring for the team.

On the other hand, the Indian fast bowlers have done a terrific job for the team in the tournament as they have been right on the money. Thus, India will want more from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the upcoming matches.

India will play their fourth match of the competition against Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.