‘KL Rahul is our No. 1 ODI wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant has to wait’: India head coach Gautam Gambhir | Cricket News
Weighing in on India’s wicket-keeper debate in the ODI format, head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed KL Rahul to continue in the role ahead of Rishabh Pant for the Champions Trophy.
Rahul, who presided over the wicket-keeping gloves in the three ODIs against England, made a substantial outing with the bat in the third game in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, scoring 40 off 29 balls batting at No. 5. India posted a hefty 356 in 50 overs before thumping England 142 runs to seal a 3-0 whitewash win.
“At the moment, KL is a No.1 wicketkeeper for us, and he’s delivered for us,” Gambhir told reporters after the game. “And see, when you’ve got two wicketkeepers in this squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he (Pant) gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Right now, KL is the one who’s going to start,” added Gambhir.
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In Pant’s absence due to his horrific car accident in December 2022, Rahul filled in as the wicket-keeper in the ODI World Cup year in 2023. The 32-year-old aggregated 1060 runs in 24 innings with two centuries and seven fifties. Rahul opened India’s World Cup campaign in Chennai against Australia with a match-saving 98 not out before aggregating a total of 452 runs in 10 innings.
Meanwhile, Pant last featured in a ODI against Sri Lanka during a three-match series in August 2024 where Rahul kept wickets in the first two games. Pant fell stumped for six in that Colombo outing and has featured in 31 matches
