'Doing his best to destroy KL Rahul's career': Gambhir faces fury over 'insane' Axar Patel promotion in 1st England ODI

The tactic did not sit well with fans, who reckoned Gautam Gambhir was hurting KL Rahul's career by pushing him down the order.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir's affinity towards a left-right combination saw Axar Patel get promoted to No. 5 in the batting line-up ahead of wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul in the opening ODI match of the three-game series against England in Nagpur on Thursday. However, the tactic did not sit well with fans, who reckoned Gambhir was hurting Rahul's career by pushing him down the order.

India's Axar Patel, left, celebrates with captain Rohit Sharma, right, and wicketkeeper KL Rahul after taking the wicket of England's captain Jos Buttler during the first One Day International (ODI) cricket match(PTI)

Rahul has predominantly been a No. 5 batter in ODI cricket, a shift, made a couple of years back, which changed his white-ball career. It also saw him gain success, which was evident from his impressive show in the 2023 ODI World Cup. While Rahul was expected to play the same role on Thursday at the VCA Stadium, Gambhir sent Axar at No. 5 after the dismissal of Shreyas Iyer for 59 off 36.

Despite Axar having a decent record with the bat, and having handled such promotions with finesse in the past, the most recent being in the T20 World Cup final last year, fans on social media fumed at Gambhir. Here are some of the reactions…

India set 249-run target

Debutant fast bowler Harshit Rana and spinner Ravindra Jadeja claimed three wickets each as India folded England for 248 in the series opener in Nagpur. The contest marked India's final preparations for the Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

England, who opted to bat first, started off on a great note, with opener Phil Salt launching a brutal attack against Rana, hitting the bowler for three sixes and two fours in a 26-run sixth over. However, the batter was dismissed after a mid-pitch mix-up with Ben Duckett. Rana then made a comeback, picking two quick wickets, and England slipped to 77-3 in 10 overs. Despite skipper Jos Buttler's 52, and 51 from Jacob Bethell, the tourists lost wickets in cluster, before being bundled in 47.4 overs.