KL Rahul is in great form, him sitting out doesn’t make sense, expresses Kapil Dev
Former Indian captain Kapil Dev believes that KL Rahul sitting out from the Test team despite being in great form does not make sense as India face their first ever World Test Championship loss against New Zealand by 10 wickets. He further added that when a player is in form, he needs to play.
Virat Kohli and Company seem to be struggling to form a concrete team and are making too many changes in the playing XI. Team India was completely thrashed in the Test series opener in Wellington, a game which they lost by 10 wickets at the Basin Reserve on Monday. Former Indian all-rounder and World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev wondered why KL Rahul, despite being in great form, is not in the Test squad.
"I do not understand. There is a lot of difference between when we played and what is happening now. When you build a team, you have to give confidence to players. When there are so many changes made, it does not make sense. Management believes in format-specific players. Rahul is in great form, he is sitting out, it does not make sense. I believe when a player is in form, he needs to play," expressed Dev, reported Times Of India.
The New Zealand team see to be back on track after being whitewashed in the T20 series and are playing some quality cricket with some new names in the team proving their potential. Dev added that New Zealand need to be praised and they are playing very good cricket.
"We have to praise New Zealand, they are playing very good cricket. The three ODIs and this Test match, they have been excellent. If we analyse this match critically, well, I do not understand how one can make so many changes. There is a new team in almost every match. No one in the team is permanent, if there is no security over your place, it will affect the form of the players," said Dev.
The Indian batting line-up, which boasts of players like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, failed in both the innings at the Basin Reserve which Kohli himself admitted was a reason for their downfall against the Black Caps. Dev further suggested that the team has to focus more on planning and strategy and the big names in the batting line-up need to perform.
"Such big names in the batting order, if you cannot score even 200 runs in 2 innings, you have not been able to conquer conditions. You have to focus more on planning and strategy," Kapil added.
New Zealand were completely whitewashed in the five-match T20I series. However, they made a strong comeback and went on to win the three ODIs and have now won the first Test in the two-match Test series.
