On 18 September 2023, Team India’s squad for the upcoming three-match home ODI series against Australia was announced. For the first two matches, many core World Cup-bound players were given a rest including the skipper, Rohit Sharma. Hence, KL Rahul will lead the team.
Rahul recently made a comeback in the team in the Asia Cup 2023. Initially, he got fit from the thigh injury that he sustained in the IPL 2023. But, after some practice matches and intense sessions, he sustained some niggle and as a result, he missed the group stage of the competition in Sri Lanka.
KL Rahul batted only thrice in the Asia Cup 2023
Then, he passed fitness tests and joined the team in the ‘Super 4’ stage. In India’s first ‘Super 4’ clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, he got included in the playing XI after Shreyas Iyer got ruled out due to a back spasm just before the start of the game. He announced his return in some style as Rahul smashed 111* runs. Then, in the next three matches, he batted only twice and ended the tournament with 169 runs. Even, with the gloves behind the stumps, he looked super comfortable. So, fans were happy to see him contributing and now, the former Team India cricketer, Gautam Gambhir also lauded him for bringing stability to India’s batting line-up.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir said: “The most important thing is stability. You need a batter at No. 4 who can give you stability because you don't want to put the entire pressure on your top three. KL Rahul provides you that stability. KL Rahul has the ability and the shots where he can change his batting tempo at any time. However, more important than that was that he scored a century in his first game against Pakistan after coming back from injury and he looked in a totally different rhythm after that." Listening to that comment, fans also shared their views on social media.
Here is how fans have reacted:
bhai har do match me palatta h ye aadmi 😭
— aish (@aishwh0) September 18, 2023
Agreed this time with Gambhir 👍
— Naina (@Nainajersey18) September 18, 2023
Middle order looks good with him
— Anson Huns (@anson_huns) September 18, 2023
he batted beautifully in concluded Asia cup
— anees ur rehman (@an33s) September 18, 2023
"Money received from LSG"
— Anuraj Kumar (@BeAnuraj) September 18, 2023
Paytm PE 100 rupye prapt hue
Well Said!
— Vinita Pangeni (@Wyni16) September 18, 2023
KL Rahul 💪
— Chandrayaan3 🇮🇳 (@shad_ind) September 18, 2023
KL RAHUL SHOULD OPEN
— pradeep (@gentledepu) September 18, 2023
Well said Gauti bhai
— Satya Prakash (@Satya_Prakash08) September 18, 2023