Courtesy: BCCI
KL Rahul, the Indian wicket-keeper batter, admitted to having competition with compatriot Rishabh Pant for a place in the playing XI for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The 32-year-old has played the first couple of matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the tournament ahead of Rishabh Pant, and in the pre-match press conference ahead of the New Zealand clash, he spoke about not lying to the fact that there is competition between him and his compatriot.
Notably, in the opening clash of the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh, KL Rahul scored a superb 47 in just 41 balls, and he stayed unbeaten alongside Shubman Gill, to take India over the finishing line at the Dubai International Stadium. While he didn’t get the chance to bat in the second match of the tournament for India against Pakistan, his wicket-keeping exploits in both the games were top-notch as well.
There is (competition with Pant), I won't lie. He's obviously a very talented player: KL Rahul
In the pre-match conference ahead of the high stakes clash against New Zealand in Dubai, which will decide the winner of Group A in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, KL Rahul discussed how the team management is tempted to play Rishabh Pant ahead of him in the playing XI. He was quoted as saying, as per the Times of India, “There is (competition with Pant), I won't lie. He's obviously a very talented player and he's shown all of us what he can do and how aggressive and how quickly he can change the game.”
After talking about how he isn’t trying to compete with Rishabh Pant in terms of playing like him, KL Rahul alluded to how hard it is for the team management to select either one of them. He remarked, “Luckily, I am not part of the leadership group. I don't have to make that decision. But I'm sure there will be some temptation to try out players who have not gotten a game. I don't think that will happen in the Champions Trophy, because there is just one day's break between the final group stage game and the semifinal and we've got a six-day break.”
“We probably want all players to play the game and get a little bit of time in the middle. That is my version. I don't know, it might be very different tomorrow,” KL Rahul added.
