Former England captain Kevin Pietersen sent a message to India head coach Gautam Gambhir to keep wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul at No. 5 in the playing XI for the Champions Trophy. His comment came amid Gambhir revealing that he would continue to prefer a left-right combination in the middle-order, thus giving no guarantee on Rahul's batting position.
The Indian team management was criticised during the first two matches of the recently concluded home ODI series against England after Axar Patel was sent to bat at No. 5 ahead of Rahul. While the all-rounder benefitted from the promotion, the wicketkeeper struggled at No. 6, scoring just 12 runs in two innings.
However, on his return to his original spot in the final tie in Ahmedabad, Rahul carved out a valuable knock of 40 off 29 in India's 142-run win. After the match, Pietersen, speaking to the broadcasters, urged Gambhir to keep Rahul at No. 5.
“One thing they'll be happy is that Virat Kohli got runs today. So Rohit's got runs. Gill, Shreyas...it's a pretty formidable start, I tell you that. I want KL Rahul at 5 because I want him to face many balls he got. He came in today with 17 overs to go. And when you come in with more time, you can build it. I don't think KL Rahul is the guy that comes in with three overs to go and hits you 30 or 12 ball. Rahul is the kind of guy that needs to get himself in in one day cricket. The best chance to give him that time is to bat him at 5,” he told Star Sports.
Kevin Pietersen picks India XI for Champions Trophy
The England great then revealed his India playing XI for their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
{{/usCountry}}The England great then revealed his India playing XI for their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
{{/usCountry}}After revealing the batting line-up, he ignored Harshit Rana from the pace unit and backed Arshdeep Singh as the second seamer and Kuldeep Yadav as the sole specialist spinner ahead of Varun Chakravarthy.
“Chakravarthy's been very good, but I think Kuldeep has been very good in terms of what he's produced and the numbers that he's produced. I like the left-arm seamer, so that's why Arshdeep starts for me. You've got your three seamers there. Shami, Arshdeep and Hardik. Then you've got Jadeja, who's always my first pick. So Jadeja and the rest, Kuldeep, Axar,” he said.
Kevin Pietersen's India XI for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.