"India's selection committee is to blame for KL Rahul's criticism" - Salman Butt

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes that KL Rahul was subjected to a lot of criticism because India's selection committee kept on playing him despite his poor form.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he suggested that the Indian team management should have given Rahul a break when he was struggling to get going.

Butt reckoned that the side should have instead backed Shubman Gill, as he he was in fantastic form. Here's what Butt said about Rahul's form:

"KL Rahul was criticized a lot during his lean patch. I believe that India's selection committee is to blame for Rahul's criticism. They kept on playing him consistently, even though he was out of form.

"They exposed him by doing so, despite having an in-form player like Shubman Gill in the squad. Yes, you need to give confidence to your players, but it can also be done through communication, and you can save them from unnecessary criticism."

It is worth noting that KL Rahul was dropped from India's playing XI after managing just 38 runs in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. However, he bounced back in the first ODI with a match-winning knock of 75* to help the Men in Blue secure a five-wicket victory in Mumbai on Friday, March 17.

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KL Rahul has performed exceptionally while playing in the middle-order in ODIs

While KL Rahul was trolled mercilessly by many for his string of poor performances in red-ball cricket, his performances in ODIs have been commendable lately.

He has batted at No.5 in 17 innings so far and has aggregated 733 runs, including seven fifties and one century. The 30-year-old has an impressive average of 56.38 in that particular position.

Rahul's form in the format will be key for India, as he appears to be the front-runner to be India's wicketkeeper in the forthcoming ICC ODI World Cup in Rishabh Pant's absence.

He will next be seen in action on Sunday, March 19, when India and Australia square off in the second ODI of the three-match series. The contest will take place at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.