KL Rahul was dropped from India’s playing XI in the decider against England to slot in an extra bowler in the line-up. Virat Kohli opened with Rohit Sharma and everything else fell into place. Natarajan who was roped into the laying XI bowled a good spell and helped the other Indian bowlers who were India’s main strike force with the bat. In between all this, Rahul’s exclusion did not go well with Gautam Gambhir. 

The former Indian batsmen said that Rahul should have been given one more chance in the final game. Rahul scored in single digits in the first three games before scoring just 14 in the fourth T20I. 

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Talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir said that KL Rahul should have been given another game. He further added that Rahul was the only one wh could have been dropped to fit in a bowler in the line-up. 

“India went with six bowlers, I completely agree with that. Because India were always one bowler short. And the only way that could have been done was by dropping KL Rahul and picking a bowler. And that’s what they have done. But ideally, they should have given him another game. But they could not have fit him with six bowlers, had KL Rahul played this game,” said Gambhir. 

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma clarified the reason behind Rahul’s exclusion from the Indian playing XI in the final game. He said that it was more of a tactical change and that it does not mean that Rahul is out of the reckoning for T20Is.

Dropping KL Rahul Was a Tactical Move: Rohit Sharma

“Today was a tactical move because we wanted an extra bowler to play. We wanted to leave 1 batsman out and unfortunately, it was KL Rahul,” Rohit said. 

The two teams now face off in a three-match ODI series in Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The first game will be played on Match 23 followed by the last two on March 26 & 28.

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