3 reasons why KL Rahul should be India's primary wicket-keeper in ODIs

Modified Dec 05, 2022 17:16 IST

India v South Africa - ICC Men's T20 World Cup

KL Rahul has gone through a rough patch of late. The talented batter endured a miserable start to the 2022 T20 World Cup, and although he played a couple of innings of substance, he failed in the semi-final as England eliminated Team India.

Since then, Rahul has made only one appearance, batting at his favorable No. 5 position in the ODI series opener against Bangladesh. The 30-year-old stroked his way to a team-high 73, which didn't prove to be a match-winning score as the Tigers chased down the target with one wicket to spare. He even shelled a skier off Mehidy Hasan Miraz at a time when a wicket would've sealed the game for Rohit Sharma's side.

However, there is reason to believe that Rahul needs to be part of India's plans in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup. He seems to be right at home at No. 5, and handing him the gloves might be the right way forward for the Men in Blue.

Here are three reasons why KL Rahul should be India's primary wicket-keeper in ODIs.

#3 Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer are practically locks at Nos. 3 and 4

Virat Kohli, easily one India's greatest ODI batters of all time, is bound to man the No. 3 position. Although his recent form in the format has been underwhelming, the star batter will be backed to arrest his slump and pile on the runs like he did until 2019.

Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, has almost sealed the No. 4 spot through sheer weight of runs. He averages a tick under 50 in ODIs at a strike rate of 97.25 and has scores of 80, 54, 63, 44, 50, 113*, 28*, 80, 49 and 24 in his last 10 innings. Iyer has found a way to score runs despite a glaring short-ball weakness, one he seems to be rectifying.

This means that India have no room to play a specialist wicket-keeper in the top four. Rishabh Pant has done well at No. 4 in ODIs, but Shreyas has done better in the recent past. In the event of Pant not making the playing XI, Rahul, who is bound to be part of the side as the vice-captain, might be India's best bet to don the gloves.

#2 India's other wicket-keepers have their drawbacks

Even if India decide to play a specialist wicket-keeper, they don't have too many viable options.

Rishabh Pant has been excellent in ODIs since the start of 2021, but he has been in poor form of late. His fitness has also come under the scanner, with him having been released from the Bangladesh ODI squad recently.

Ishan Kishan averages 33.38 over the course of eight innings and doesn't seem ready to be an international regular. Sanju Samson, on the other hand, has adapted beautifully to a middle-order role, but India arguably don't have room for him when Hardik Pandya returns.

Rahul, meanwhile, has no such qualms. He is a fixture in the playing XI, and he's done well at No. 5. It seems straightforward to hand him the gloves and allow him to continue to flourish.

#1 India need to play all-rounders in the lower-middle order

Samson has done well at No. 6, and other wicket-keepers might also be capable of playing there as well, but in an ideal scenario, India need all-rounders in the lower-middle order.

Hardik seems to be the ideal candidate to bat at No. 6, followed by a couple of spin-bowling all-rounders and perhaps one (or both) of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.

India don't have much room for specialist keepers anywhere, and handing the responsibility to a successful No. 5 batter in KL Rahul seems like a wise decision.