"If Rishabh Pant is not there, that slot becomes very important" - Ishant Sharma on KL Rahul's importance in India's ODI side ahead of the World Cup

Ishant Sharma feels Rishabh Pant's potential unavailability makes KL Rahul an extremely crucial player for India heading into the ODI World Cup 2023.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently shared a medical update on the current status of the injured players. While Rahul has resumed batting in the nets and is undergoing strength and fitness drills, Pant has also commenced batting and keeping in the nets but is unlikely to play any competitive cricket soon.

During a discussion on JioCinema, Ishant was asked whether he sees KL Rahul as the wicketkeeper-batter in India's ODI squad from the World Cup perspective.

"Absolutely, if Rishabh Pant is not there, that slot becomes very important. He (Rahul) was batting at No. 4 or No. 5 in any case and scoring runs. If you don't have a wicketkeeper, you can play an extra batter and give the wicketkeeper's role to KL Rahul. So, obviously, he will become a very useful player in the ODI format," he responded.

Wasim Jaffer expects Rahul to be included in India's ODI side as soon as he gets fit.

"He is a very important player for this team. He has been in excellent form, especially in the ODI format in the last one or two years. He is a wicketkeeper and can bat both up and down the order but he has performed exceptionally well at No. 5. So if he gets fit, I think he will straightaway walk into the side," Jaffer stated.

Rahul has amassed 1986 runs at an excellent average of 45.13 in 54 ODIs. He is currently recovering from the thigh injury he suffered in IPL 2023 and will hope to be back in the Indian side at least for the Asia Cup.

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"You also have to see what all options are available" - Aakash Chopra on the wicketkeeper-batter options apart from KL Rahul

KL Rahul averages 53.00 in his 18 ODI innings at No. 5.

Aakash Chopra observed that Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are potentially the only other wicketkeeper-batter options apart from KL Rahul.

However, he pointed out that the Jharkhand left-hander is not a middle-order option, elaborating:

"You also have to see what all options are available. If we see the current team (ODI squad for the West Indies tour), one is Ishan Kishan and the other is Sanju Samson. Ishan Kishan has scored an ODI double hundred but his selection is as an opener. He is not a No. 5 or No. 6 option."

The former Indian opener added that Samson's best has also come when he has batted in the top three:

"A keeper who can bat down the order is Sanju Samson. He is very talented, looks extremely pretty when he bats, but we have seen the best of Sanju in the top three only in the IPL. His international career has been a little bit of a stop-start."

While naming Jitesh Sharma as another option, Chopra reckons he is unlikely to be in the scheme of things for ODIs. He concluded by stating that only Samson and Rahul can play in the middle order and keep wickets, with the latter more proficient in the lower-middle order.