Not a great idea to remove KL Rahul from top, reckons Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir feels that Virat Kohli's decision of playing KL Rahul in the middle-order was not a great idea, especially with both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan out with injuries.

Kohli had revealed before the first ODI that despite the absence of both Sharma and Dhawan, Rahul would bat in the middle-order and both Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal would make their ODI debuts.

"I am not sure if it is a great idea to remove KL Rahul from the top of the order," Gambhir wrote in his column for The Times of India.

Rahul has been in fantastic form off-late and Gambhir wrote that he understood his role as a wicket-keeper in T20Is. But he believed that keeping in the 50-over format would increase the burden on him, which is something the team management should be aware of.

"If anything India could have gone with a Rahul-Agarwal combination and have Rishabh Pant keep wickets. Rahul is a valuable asset and should be well looked after," Gambhir opined.

"Yes, he has done some good work behind the stumps in the games that he has kept. But I am not sure he should be expected to keep in the 50-over format," he added.

Also see – India vs New Zealand schedule

Looking at the bigger picture, Gambhir was extremely happy with India's 5-0 whitewash of New Zealand as he knew the value of winning a series overseas. India has had a terrific 2019-20 season and Gambhir believed that India was a force to be reckoned with not only in their home conditions but also away.

"A whitewash on foreign soil is unprecedented. This must be celebrated for years to come as it is no mean feat," Gambhir asserted.

The level of competition was good, the conditions were not overly friendly and the crammed schedule meant that Indians had to be in top shape," he added.