Hope KL Rahul is persisted with at No. 5 slot, asserts Virender Sehwag

Kl Rahul batted at three different positions in three ODIs against Australia and proved his versatility as a batsman. He was good behind the wickets as well and batted brilliantly especially in the second ODI at Rajkot. Rahul scored a quickfire 81 to provide India a strong finish and help them reach 340.

This completely changes the dynamics of the Indian team as Rahul can now be looked upon as a genuine wicket-keeping option and someone that could bat in the relatively experienced middle-order.

The constant chopping and changing of players in the middle order cost India in the semifinal of the World Cup and thus Virender Sehwag hoped that this time around they would persist with KL Rahul and give him ample opportunities to cement his place at number five position, just the way MS Dhoni used to give chances consistently when he was the skipper.

"If KL Rahul fails four times batting at No. 5, the current Indian team management will look to change his slot. However, same wasn't the case with Dhoni, who knew how important it is to back players at such positions, having himself gone through the hard grind," Sehwag told 'Cricbuzz'.

"With MS Dhoni as captain, there was greater clarity with regards to each player's position in the batting unit. He had an eye for talent and had identified individuals who would take Indian cricket forward," he added.

Being a former opener himself, Sehwag believed that there were more chances of top-order players being successful than middle-order players and thus the latter needed extra support from the team management in order to deliver.

"If you don't give players time, how else will they learn and become big players. I myself batted in the middle-order before opening and made a lot of mistakes, which even resulted in the team's losses. But you don't become a big player sitting outside on the bench. Players need time," he stated.