Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh has urged selectors to consider KL Rahul in India’s T20I team after India suffered a huge loss of 125 runs against England in the third game at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Tuesday.
Ramesh highlighted that the next T20 World Cup will be played in tough conditions in Australia and New Zealand and India would need a quality batter like KL Rahul in the team.
Rahul recently scored 593 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2026 at an average of 45.62 and a strike rate of 174.41 for Delhi Capitals. The flamboyant batter has been a consistent performer in the IPL over the years.
Sadagopan Ramesh said on his Instagram handle, “The next T20 World Cup will be on potentially challenging pitches in Australia and New Zealand. Considering that, it is paramount India add a batter capable of handling high-quality fast bowlers. Thinking in that direction, the first name that automatically comes to mind is KL Rahul. He responded to the criticisms around his strike rate with his performance in this IPL. He is also one of only three players to have ever scored a 150.”
“India need batters capable of playing guys like Archer in Australian conditions and also ones that can handle crisis. Just slogging and aiming for only 6s and 4s will result in more such 70 and 80 all-outs. That is why batters like KL Rahul must be considered.”
Meanwhile, Rahul last played a T20I for India back in 2022 when India lost the T20 World Cup semifinal against England. Ramesh urged the team management and selectors to add a few right-handers in India’s squad.
“You can’t consider the IPL only for certain players. KL Rahul must also atleast be in the radar. Also, for a team that looks so much at matchups with the ball, India don’t seem to care about matchups with the bat. The lineup is full of left-handers and so India must add a few right-handers. Purely because of where the next T20 World is going to be played, KL Rahul has to be in the radar,” said Ramesh (via the aforementioned source).
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
