'Imagine if Rohit wasn't captain. How he would have felt?': Gambhir's fiery attack on Rahul's critics after Kohli's ton

The former India opener launched a passionate defence of KL Rahul after questions were raised over his role in the Indian team.

Team India endured a disappointing campaign in the 2022 Asia Cup as the side was knocked out in the Super 4 stages of the tournament. However, even as the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team failed to make it to the final, there was a glaring positive for the side – the return of Virat Kohli's form. The Indian batter finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the continental tournament with 276 runs in five matches at a brilliant strike rate of 147.59. Kohli also ended a long wait for a century, as he remained unbeaten on 122 in the side's final match against Afghanistan in Dubai.

KL Rahul; Gautam Gambhir

Kohli had opened the innings alongside KL Rahul in the game, as captain Rohit opted to rest. Following the innings, there were debates over Kohli taking over the opening role alongside Rohit in the Indian batting order; the discussions were fuelled by KL Rahul's poor form since his return to the international setup last month. In the Asia Cup, the Indian opener scored 132 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 122.22.

However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who has worked closely with Rahul during their respective stints at the Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants, stated that people seem to have forgotten the contributions of Rahul over the past few years.

“You know what happens in India? The moment someone starts doing very well... for example, when Virat Kohli scored a hundred in the last game, we all start forgetting what Rahul and Rohit have done over a long period of time. When you talk about Kohli opening the batting, imagine what happens to KL Rahul? Imagine the amount of insecurity he must be feeling. Imagine if he gets a low score in the first game, there will be another debate on whether Kohli should open in the next game,” Gambhir said on Star Sports during a virtual press conference ahead of India's three-match T20I series against Australia.

“You don't want your top class players in that position, especially KL Rahul who has probably got more ability than Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. Imagine KL Rahul going into the World Cup thinking, 'what if I don't score runs against Pakistan? What if I get replaced by Virat Kohli?' You don't want that,” Gambhir further said.

The former India opener also said that Rohit Sharma might be having similar insecurities over his role if he hadn't been the captain of the side.

“That's the reason we shouldn't entertain that question. Think from India's point of view. Think from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma's point of view. Well, Rohit is the captain right now. Imagine if he was not the captain, what would he have felt? Everything falls down on KL Rahul,” said Gambhir.

“We should start thinking about how India can flourish, rather than certain individuals.”