IND vs NZ | Rest will do world of good for KL Rahul, feels Ravi Shastri

It has been quite the last six months for KL Rahul who, after being on the verge of being isolated from national selection altogether, now finds himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet. Having taken up the wicket-keeping gloves over from Rishabh Pant in the limited-overs format, Rahul was named the Man of the Series in the T20Is against the Kiwis and further managed to back it up with an incredible run in the ODIs, where he averaged over 100.

And given his outrageous run of form and the injury to Rohit Sharma, the Karnataka man was expected to be named in the Test squad to face the Kiwis, but was surprisingly omitted from it, with youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill given the nod ahead of him. However, head coach Ravi Shastri is unphased about Rahul’s absence from the Test squad and stated that the rest would do a world of good for the 27-year-old. The Indian coach further noted that the added responsibility of wicket-keeping has brought about a spring in Rahul’s step.

“It's almost like he finds himself all the more involved because of the added responsibility. He's in a great space and some rest will do him a world of good," Shastri told Times of India.

The tour of New Zealand has thus far been a mixed one for the Indians, having been whitewashed in the ODIs after they, themselves, handed the hosts a whitewash in the T20Is. Shastri, however, is not too bothered by the results - irrespective of whether it’s positive or negative - and admitted that it could sometimes be flattering but stated that bilateral series are the team’s ground for experimentation. With the team now sporting a young core, the 57-year-old attested that it was up to the youngsters to make most of their opportunities and grab them with both hands.

"That 5-0 win could've been 3-2, 4-1. As we might acknowledge, the eventual result is what counts. The series was ours no doubt but the 5-0 sweep was like an icing. Now, the thing is how convincingly we can pull off matches like that.

“Bilaterals are the perfect space to try new things, mix things up, get in some new faces. That's what we've been doing. Around four to five guys in the team right now are less than 22 years of age. It's up to them how they take advantage of these opportunities coming their way.”