Vaughan's Bold Call! Prefers KL Rahul Over Gill for WTC Final

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, acknowledging KL Rahul's exceptional batting form, advocates for Rahul's selection over Shubman Gill in the World Test Championship finale. Gill, who faced exclusion from the playing XI in the last two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has encountered uncertainty surrounding his Test cricket future. Vaughan highlights Rahul's comfort against deliveries with movement as the rationale behind favouring him over Gill.

Michael Vaughan favours KL Rahul

In addition, the 48-year-old suggested that India should not dwell on the past matches, as the final against Australia is a singular and decisive encounter. Vaughan further commented on Gill's technical shortcomings that require attention, making Rahul a clear and preferable choice. Moreover, he discussed Gill's hand technique, which tends to shift towards the seaming ball, potentially leading to more frequent edges to the slip cordon.

"The only change that they could make in English conditions is that KL Rahul plays the moving ball better than Shubman Gill. Shubman is a tremendous young player, but you've got to win that one game of cricket. Forget history; it's about picking the best XI to win the World Test Championship. When it's straight, Shubman is a dangerous player, but I've seen a few little technical deficiencies. When the ball moves, he takes his hand a little bit too much towards the ball."

Michael Vaughan

While the former England captain seemingly emphasised the significance of focusing on that crucial game rather than taking a long-term perspective on a player's qualities, he also expressed uncertainty about the potential alteration of Gill's position in favour of Rahul. Ultimately, the decision regarding the composition of the playing XI for the grand final rests solely with the team management.

Continuing further, he stated,

“He snicks off quite consistently. I'm not sure they will do that (replace Shubman with KL Rahul) because I'm not in the selection room. (But) don't pick a team based on what's next or who's going to play in the West Indies; you've got to pick the team for that one game of cricket.”

KL Rahul and Shubman Gill in the number game

In terms of statistics, Rahul has showcased his prowess in English conditions, accumulating 614 runs at an average of 34.11 across nine Test matches. On the other hand, Gill, the young talent, has played two matches in England and scored 57 runs.

As the highly anticipated one-off Test between two cricketing giants approaches on June 7 at the Oval, England, the BCCI has announced the 15-man squad with Rohit Sharma leading and opening the innings. While considering the present form, Shubman Gill is likely to be chosen as Rohit's opening partner, overshadowing Rahul.

Shubman Gill has been in exceptional form across various formats, whereas Rahul is currently enduring a slump, struggling with poor performances in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. Following the initial two Tests against Australia, Rahul, who served as India's vice-captain during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was subsequently excluded from the team.

Complete India Australia squad for WTC 2023 Final

The squads for the World Test Championship Finals of both the teams have been released and hence it is an amazing chance for them to come out and express themselves. The Indian squad is expected to play a warm-up game before the WTC finals and hence it is expected to be a positive sign for the team. Players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami and many more will be looking to adapt to the conditions.

India Squad:Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

Australia Squad:Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

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