Things aren’t going well for KL Rahul in the last weeks. The 32-year-old has lost his spot in the playing XI to Shubman Gill who was making his return to the team. Rahul scored zero and 12 in the previous game in Bengaluru. The veteran Indian star was seen on the field as a substitute fielder on the first day of the second game in Pune.
Skipper Rohit Sharma fielding in the slips spotted Rahul and something didn’t sit down well with Rohit. The 37-year-old could be heard screaming at Rahul and saying, “Aye KL kya kar raha hai yaar”. The rest of the conversation was drowned out due to the commentary to leave the fans puzzled what had irked the Indian skipper.
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R. Ashwin was the best bowler for India grabbing 3 wickets for the home team. The veteran spinner dismissed Devon Conway just after lunch. The left-handed batter had scored 76 off 141 balls before he edged the ball behind to Pant. The 38-year-old had also dismissed Tom Latham for 15 and Will Young for 18 just before lunch.
Rahul dropped despite Gautam Gambhir’s statement
Just a day before the second Test match in Pune, Gautam Gambhir had publicly backed Rahul despite his poor form. It was believed that Sarfaraz Khan could be dropped despite scoring a century in the previous game.
Gambhir said, “You don't pick players on social media because of social media or for that matter even what the experts are saying. What the team management thinks and what the leadership group thinks is very, very important. Ultimately, everyone is judged.”
India’s head coach had also said, “International cricket is all about being judged, to be honest, because everyone's performance will be judged eventually. But I feel that he is batting really well. Obviously, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur obviously, on a difficult wicket. And obviously, he played according to the plans as well. And I am sure, I think, he would also know that he wants to score big runs and he has that capability of scoring runs. That's why he has been backed by the team management."