‘Done no wrong’: Aakash Chopra backs KL Rahul over Rishabh Pant as India’s first-choice ODI wicketkeeper | Cricket News
Former India batter Aakash Chopra has said that head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma must continue backing KL Rahul, who has done “no wrong”, as the first-choice wicket-keeper for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy this month.
In contention alongside Rahul is Rishabh Pant who could be favoured for his left-handedness to provide variety in the Indian top-order comprising a host of right-handers including Rohit, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.
“There are two schools of thought. One is that you have all right-handers, Shubman Gill is there with Rohit Sharma, then Virat Kohli, Rahul and Hardik Pandya. So don’t you want a left-hander there? People who come with that thinking are saying Rishabh Pant should be played,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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Rahul has been among the most prolific middle-order bats in ODIs over the last four years and also played a crucial role in the ODI World Cup in Pant’s absence. Batting at No. 4 and 5, Rahul has amassed over 1700 runs with a 55-plus average with 13 50-plus scores. On the other hand, Pant has aggregated 808 runs in the slots in 23 innings, averaging only 35 for a solitary hundred.
Who should be india’s wicket keeper for the Champions Trophy: Pant or KL? – was one of the interesting questions I got on X yesterday. Have answered a few more #AskAakash questions in today’s video 
Checkout #AapKiVani now: https://t.co/dwRFbGk55H pic.twitter.com/FfNAeeOWe2
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 4, 2025
Chopra has urged India to pers with Rahul who played two of the three ODIs against Sri Lanka last year before Pant replaced him in the third ODI.
“What goes in KL Rahul’s favour is what wrong has he done. Just because his name is Rahul, will you keep drumming him? Will you keep getting him to do all the jobs, whether it’s keeping, going down or up the order, and serving the drinks? No, that’s not going to happen,” he added. “He played well in the World Cup. I still remember the Australia match at Chepauk. Then he continuously scored alright. He was criticized a lot for batting a little slow in the final, but we might not have reached where we reached if he had gotten out instead of batting slow,” Chopra explained.
“I am going with KL Rahul. I am going with continuity. Why would you drop someone who hasn’t done anything wrong just because someone else does well? Rishabh Pant’s ODI record is a work in progress. So Rahul should be the frontrunner,” Chopra said.
