Auckland [New Zealand], Jan 24 : Wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul looked clueless on Friday when he was asked as to when Rishabh Pant will get selected back into the side.
His reaction came after the conclusion of the first T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand.
A journalist asked Rahul–“Do you see Pant coming back into the side and playing in this series?”
To this, Rahul replied: “It’s not upto me, I mean.”
In the first T20I, India was set a target of 204 runs for the win and Rahul starred with the bat after playing a knock of 56 runs.
The Men in Blue recently defeated Australia 2-1 in the three-match ODI series.
Before the New Zealand series, skipper Virat Kohli cleared the air on who will keep wickets in the against New Zealand and said that Rahul’s wicket-keeping skills serve the balance of the side better.
Regular keeper Pant had gotten a concussion in the first ODI of the series against Australia, and as a result, Rahul had to keep wickets in the second and third ODI.
In the second ODI, Rahul went on to score 80 runs and has shown good work behind the stumps in the matches that have followed.
“It definitely allows us to play an extra batsman. It is an important factor while choosing the side. You can look at Rahul Dravid’s example in the 2003 World Cup, when he started keeping behind the stumps, the balance of the side became a lot better and the side was able to play an extra batsman,” Kohli told reporters after the third ODI.
“KL Rahul is open to playing anywhere because he is a proper batsman. He is not a guy who will go slam-bang from ball one, but he can do what he did in Rajkot, He has reflected on what he needs to do in the past six months. It is a boost that he can keep wickets as well,” he said.
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