Subhayan Chakrabarty in Pune
KL Rahul, despite a respectable 68 runs in the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh, is under scrutiny regarding his position in India’s middle order after failing to perform in Bengaluru against New Zealand. His performance has sparked debate, especially after Sarfaraz Khan’s impressive 150-run innings against the Black Caps. Additionally, Shubman Gill’s recovery from a neck strain and Rishabh Pant’s availability in Pune add to the selection dilemma. While it remains unclear whether Sarfaraz or Rahul will make way for Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir has voiced his support for Rahul.
Gambhir dismissed the influence of social media and its criticism on team selection during the pre-match press conference. “First of all, social media does not matter one bit. You do not pick players because of social media or what the experts think. What the team management thinks, what the leadership group thinks, is very very important,” he stated.
He also defended Rahul’s recent form, “But I feel he is batting really well, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur, obviously on a difficult wicket and he played according to the plans.”
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Rishabh Pant is fit and will keep wickets tomorrow, confirms Gautam Gambhir! While the playing XI dilemma continues, Gambhir is pleased to see healthy competition within the squad.
Catch all the insights from Team India’s press conference ahead of the 2nd #INDvsNZ Test!… pic.twitter.com/wivx01Lrhr
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Rahul’s Test career statistics stand at 2,981 runs from 53 matches with an average of 33.87, a number impacted by his shifting roles from opener to middle-order batter.
On team updates, Gambhir confirmed that Rishabh Pant would be keeping wickets in the upcoming match and that Shubman Gill, now fit, could potentially return to the side, though the final XI was yet to be decided. “He (Gill) was injured in the last game due to an injury… We have not decided on playing XI. We will decide tomorrow,” Gambhir noted.
When asked about the team’s hunger to win matches following a tremendous effort in Bengaluru after getting bundled out for 46 in the first innings, the India head coach said, “Draws are boring, results are always important… with T20 cricket around, it will be difficult to see a lot of draws in future as well.”
India, facing a must-win situation in the second Test to keep their decade-long unbeaten home series record intact, are looking to bounce back after an unexpected loss to New Zealand in Bengaluru.
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