India has avoided losing back-to-back series defeats to South Africa. Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have ensured the India vs South Africa 3rd ODI goes the home side’s way with incredible performances in Vishakhapatnam.
KL Rahul did a fine job as interim captain in Shubman Gill’s absence, with the bat, behind the stumps, and with the captaincy cap on. But some issues persisted. It may not seem right to criticise him moments after India won the ODI series, but it’ll be a disservice if one doesn’t point out the mistakes.
Playing around with KL Rahul’s position
Let’s start from the start. In Ranchi, it made no sense to demote Rahul to six and play Washington Sundar at five. The latter was promoted as a like-for-like replacement for Axar Patel, who was either rested or dropped for the series. On paper, the decision seems correct.
But one has to remember that Axar was promoted to the role due to his spin prowess. Washington just doesn’t have the same skills. At this moment, he’s a better player for pace. This also meant that Rahul, who averages 59.34 at five, was played one position lower.
In Raipur, their positions were switched. Make of that what you will.
Why no Rishabh Pant or Nitish Reddy?
Gambhir wanted to play two all-rounders. Washington bowled just 7 overs in the two matches. You can hardly call that an all-rounder. In comparison, Ravindra Jadeja bowled 16 overs. That begs the question, why weren’t either Rishabh Pant or Nitish Reddy played?
The former isn’t just a better middle-order batter in white-ball cricket than Washington; he’s also a backup wicketkeeper. After Rahul, there’s no idea who’ll get the gloves. This was the right time to test that, but Gambhir didn’t. Same for Nitish. Unlike Washington, he’s a batting all-rounder.
He could have batted at five or six, and given spinners weren’t used much due to dew, he might have been useful. But he wasn’t picked. If Gambhir wanted to continue with the right-left combination, Pant could have been used.
Obsession with 6th bowler
Gambhir wants more than five bowling options. That’s why Washington was playing as a fallback option. He was there to bowl a couple of overs if someone was struggling and if he had a favourable match or conditions. It’s somewhat understandable if Washington plays that role, but picking Tilak Varma for that makes no sense at all.
Wouldn’t it be better for the main bowlers to get used to performing under pressure and prepare for what may come in the 2027 ODI World Cup. If you don’t try these tactics during bilateral two years away, when will you? India played and won but what did they learn?
Rohit, Kohli, and Rahul performed as well as before. Jaiswal and Harshit Rana, who have an abundance of talent, stood tall. Prasidh Krishna remained erratic as well. Ruturaj Gaikwad played well out of position, scoring his maiden ODI hundred. Harshit and Gaikwad were perhaps the only positives. You could have tested Pant, Tilak, and Nitish, but none got to bat once.
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