After gaining full fitness, KL Rahul will return to action as the stand-in captain in the upcoming Zimbabwe ODIs, starting Thursday in Harare. The series opener will be his first international game since February 2022. The dynamic right-hand batter has been away from the field since the 2022 IPL. Rahul was set to lead India in the 5 T20Is against South Africa at home but a groin injury suffered ahead of the series opener in Delhi ruled him out of the entire series and the England tour as well.
He had regained fitness and was set to fly for the Caribbean but days before taking his flight, Rahul contracted to Covid and was ruled out again. As now he has been cleared by the BCCI medical team, he will be back in action when India takes on Zimbabwe.
Rahul has also been named in the 15-men squad for the Asia Cup 2022, starting August 27. His return has strengthened the Indian top order. However, former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta feels that once the Karnataka batter settled himself in the side, he should shift down to the middle order.
In a conversation with news agency PTI, Dasgupta backed Shubman Gill as India’s opener for the next year’s ODI World Cup at home.
“I agree it is difficult after you have had such a good series. But currently, the aim would be to prepare Rahul for the Asia Cup T20’s opening slot. He needs to get a lot of batting time and that’s a priority. I think it will be a short-term arrangement as Shubman I feel is being groomed as an opener for the ODI World Cup," Dasgupta told PTI.
Shubman Gill recently had a great run in the West Indies, ending the 3-match ODI series as the highest run-getter; with 205 runs at a staggering average of 102.50.
“I feel questions will always be raised, but I don’t really care about what people are saying as long as I’m able to contribute to my team’s success, and as long as I am doing what my team management and my captain expect of me," Gill told Telegraph India in a recent interaction.
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