'You can kill two birds with one stone': Aakash issues big warning to promising 24-year-old star with KL Rahul threat

It is yet to be seen whether Rahul will resume his role in the middle order after Shikhar Dhawan tested positive for Covid-19.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has issued a warning to India's promising 24-year-old star ahead of the impending three-match ODI series against West Indies with a KL Rahul threat. The ODI contest begins from February 6 onwards and all matches will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, behind closed doors.

Aakash Chopra; KL Rahul

Speaking on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Aakash feels that Rahul should bat in the middle order for India in the ODIs, unlike what he had done in the series against South Africa, where he had opened for India in Rohit Sharma's stead. However, he added that with Rahul back to the middle-order, it will put pressure on Rishabh Pant.

"The World Cup is one-and-a-half years away and we have seen a lot of things change in three months, this has been the story of Indian cricket of late. He [Rahul] will have to play in the middle order now. When he plays in the middle order, I feel he will put some pressure on Rishabh Pant as well," he said.

Aakash explained that with Rahul also having served as a wicketkeeper in the limited-overs format for a brief period in the last two years, inconsistency with the scores will only add to Pant's concern.

"He [Pant] will need to be consistent. You can kill two birds with one stone because when KL Rahul had batted in the middle order in ODI cricket, he was playing as a wicketkeeper. He had performed that role well although he was given a chance to do that in very few matches," he added.

In the recent series against South Africa, Pant scored 101 runs in three innings, which included the knock of 85 in the second ODI and a five-ball duck in the final tie. Since 2019 World Cup, Pant has featured in 12 ODIs, scoring 421 runs at 38.27 with four half-century scores

It is yet to be seen whether Rahul will resume his role in the middle order after Shikhar Dhawan tested positive for Covid-19. The selectors have added Mayank Agarwal to the squad, after back-up opener Ruturaj Gaikwad had also tested positive.

Meanwhile, Rahul will only be available from the second ODI onwards, as mentioned by the BCCI in their release during the announcement of the squad.