You can be dropped even if you’re vice-captain – Maninder Singh on KL Rahul

Former Indian spinner Maninder Singh has cautioned KL Rahul to be more consistent for the team. Rahul didn’t have a great run in the T20 World Cup for the team. The Indian opener failed to get off the blocks in the PowerPlay overs as he adopted a sedate approach.

The stylish batter scored fifties against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but could not deliver the goods in other matches. The opening batter scored 121 runs in six matches at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of 120.75.

Maninder Singh stated Rahul should not take his place for granted and he could be dropped despite being the vice-captain of the limited-overs team.

Maninder Singh said on Sony Sports Network, “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.”

On the other hand, Shubman Gill has impressed whenever he has got his chance. Gill recently scored a decent knock of 50 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand and then scored an unbeaten 45 in the second game before rain played killjoy. Singh believes Gill should be given his chances consistently in the Indian team.

“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.”

India will take on Bangladesh in the first ODI at Mirpur on Sunday.

Indian Squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.