Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar believes KL Rahul’s continuous success at No.5 in ODIs is a blessing for India as the elegant right-hander gives the team an all-round option with the bat in hand, with the added bonus of his wicketkeeping skills.
Speaking to Sony Sports after the first ODI of the ongoing India tour of Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday, Gavaskar lauded Rahul for his superlative knock of 78 off 73 balls on a testing surface and said his ascent into a dependable No.5 player augurs really well for Indian cricket.
“He has been batting for India at No.5 with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening the batting most of the time and Virat Kohli at No.3. He has been batting at No.5 for a while now. Maybe that is the position that he is looking to consolidate. What that does is it gives India the extra option,”
Gavaskar said for Rahul.
He stressed on his point around Rahul’s multidimensional abilities, stating him doubling up as a wicketkeeper-batter at No.5 gives head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma the option to play an extra bowler in the side, which they do by positioning the allround duo of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at No.6-7 when they are fit and available.
At No.5, Rahul seems to be a player transformed, relishing the clarity of his role and the situations he finds himself in to produce his best performances over the past few seasons. Batting at the spot, the 30-year-old has a strike rate of 112.39 while averaging 58.44. His overall career average when batting No.4 or 5 stands at 52.50 with a strike rate of 102.65.
This is in direct contrast with Rahul’s struggles at the top of the order, where the batter has a strike rate of only 67.56 in the first powerplay over 23 innings. Rahul’s overall ODI strike rate as an opening batter in ODIs is also a modest 79.70.
India would hope that the Karnataka player can continue to flourish at No.5 as they build on their gains towards next year’s 50-over World Cup in home conditions. A strong middle order, with the likes of Rahul and Rishabh Pant leading the pack, can go a long way in helping India regain the coveted trophy.
