Former New Zealand all-rounder believes KL Rahul is valuable to the Indian team and his selection in the Asia Cup 2022 ahead of Ishan Kishan, proves the same. Rahul had last played competitive cricket in the IPL when he had led Lucknow Super Giants.
He had scored 616 runs in 15 matches and had played a key role in taking his team to the playoff stages. However, Rahul was ruled out of the South Africa T20Is due to a groin injury. He then underwent Sports Hernia surgery in Germany.
The flamboyant batter was expected to return to action in the series against the West Indies but he was infected with Covid-19, which delayed his return. Rahul was not picked for Zimbabwe ODIs and he made a return to the squad for the Asia Cup.
Scott Styris said while talking to Sports 18 show Sports Over the Top, “It’s a good question. KL Rahul is a simple decision. Probably of all the possible match-ups that we will discuss, I think this was the easiest one. You have seen how valuable he is to the Indian team, to the management and the selectors.”
“He has been given the vice-captaincy as well, so that says that he was always the frontline player in this Indian side. It’s great for India that KL Rahul is back because he is a genuine match-winner on the biggest stage.”
On the other hand, Ishan Kishan had scored 206 runs in five T20Is against South Africa and had ended as the leading run-getter. However, after that, he didn’t get a lot of chances in the playing XI as India experimented with players like Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav at the top of the order. Thus, one feels Ishan Kishan didn’t have the rub of the green on his side when he was dropped from the Asia Cup squad.
Styris reckons Kishan was unfortunate to miss out on the squad.
“I guess it’s unlucky for Ishan Kishan, he has got that left-handed ability which I think they would have loved to have got into the squad if they possibly could have because it is a very right-handed dominant side until you get to someone like a Rishabh Pant. So I think he will be disappointed, naturally so, he is a terrific player.”
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim feels Deepak Hooda is a multi-dimensional player as he can also roll his arm over and that gave him an advantage against Ishan Kishan.
“If you have someone like Deepak Hooda waiting in the wings, then you opt for him because he is a multi-dimensional player, he can bowl off-spin and bat in the middle order or right up the order as an opener. Unfortunate that Ishan Kishan has to miss out but you possibly can only pick 15, so you need to have players who can offer more options to the management.”
