It has not been a good couple of months for KL Rahul who has been struggling for form. In the first two Test matches against Australia, the right-handed batsman failed to score big and since then, several ex-cricketers and experts have been asking for Shubman Gill to replace him as the opening partner of skipper Rohit Sharma. In the three innings that Rahul has played till now, he has not gone past the 25 run-mark even once. On Sunday, he visited Ujjain’s well-known Mahakaleshwar Temple along with his wife Athiya Shetty. In a video which was released on social media, the two of them could be seen offering prayers in the temple along with other devotees in the temple who is quite famous in India.
KL Rahul and Athiya Shetty at the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple. pic.twitter.com/KQ1q04nuYg
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 26, 2023
Former India coach Ravi Shastri hinted that Shubman Gill should replace KL Rahul in the remaining two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. There has been a lot of talk around India vice-captain Rahul’s prolonged lean patch.
With the young Gill waiting in the wings despite his stellar run across formats, the pressure is increasing on Rahul. “The team management know his (Rahul’s) form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching someone like Gill,” Shastri said on the ICC Review podcast.
“I always had the belief (to) never appoint a vice-captain for India. I would rather go with by best XI, and if captain has to leave the field, you’d zero in on a player that can take over at the time, simply because you don’t need to create complications.” Rahul, who was the designated vice-captain for the first two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, has retained his place for the final two games but is no longer Rohit Sharma’s deputy.
“If vice-captain doesn’t perform, someone can take his place; at least the tag is not there. I’m being blunt and brutal, I never like vice-captain in home condition. Overseas, it’s different.
“Here, you want prime form, you want someone like Gill, who’s red hot. He will challenge. He has to bang that door down and get into the side. Now, he’s not the vice-captain, it has to be team management’s decision,” said Shastri.
(With PTI inputs)
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