"They are blaming Rahul whenever anything goes wrong" - Aakash Chopra wants KL Rahul to score runs in 2nd Test

Aakash Chopra wants KL Rahul to be amongst the runs in the second Test against Bangladesh to be played in Mirpur from Thursday, December 22.

Rahul scored 22 and 23 runs respectively in his two innings in India's 188-run win in the first Test in Chattogram. With his opening partner Shubman Gill scoring his maiden Test century in the second innings, the stand-in skipper's spot in the playing XI might have been at stake had Rohit Sharma been fit and available.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra spoke about his expectations from Team India in the Mirpur Test. About Rahul, he said:

"There is nothing much to see from India's viewpoint. You want KL Rahul to score runs because he is an amazing player. It is not that he has become a bad player but the environment in Indian cricket at the moment is that they are blaming Rahul whenever anything goes wrong."

Chopra highlighted that everyone seems to be baying for the Karnataka opener to be dropped at the moment, explaining:

"They are asking when Rahul will get dropped. In India, when someone does well, we want the other one to be left out. We are so fickle-minded, we change our opinions so quickly. It seems at the moment that there is no player more ordinary than KL Rahul because that environment has gotten created.

Rahul has had a poor 2022 with the bat. The 30-year-old has managed just 125 runs at a lowly average of 20.83 in the three Tests he has played this year.

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"I am looking for first-innings runs from Shubman Gill" - Aakash Chopra

Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill scored centuries in the Chattogram Test. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra wants Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill to continue to fire with the bat in the Mirpur Test, observing:

"I am looking for first-innings runs from Shubman Gill because you will need runs there. Cheteshwar Pujara - once again, a similar style. Runs from Virat Kohli's bat. We were saying that Cheteshwar has scored a century after so many years."

The former Indian batter hopes Virat Kohli ends his century drought in the second Test against Bangladesh, elaborating:

"The truth is that Virat Kohli's last century came in the pink-ball Test at the Eden Gardens against Bangladesh in 2019. After that, a Test century has not come. He hasn't played too much cricket as well but hasn't scored too many runs in whatever he has played. So you expect runs from his bat, that he also scores a century."

Chopra concluded by hoping for Ravichandran Ashwin to be back amongst the wickets. He added that Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are bowling well in any case.