Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has made a bold prediction in regard to the KL Rahul vs Shubman Gill debate ahead of the third Test against Australia in Nagpur. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 15-member squad for the remaining two Test matches against Australia but removed KL Rahul from vice-captaincy.
The development raised a lot of eyebrows as many claimed that Rahul’s poor form has forced the team management to take that vice-captain tag from the top-order batter. Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh believes that it’s a smart move from BCCI as they want to give Shubman Gill a chance in the squad in 3rd Test and if Rahul remains a vice-captain, then it would be tough for the team management to drop him.
"The team was just announced now, and I feel the reason why he has not been named the vie-captain is because Shubman Gill will be picked for the next match over KL Rahul,” Harbhajan told India Today.
The legendary off-spinner further claimed that Gill has been in terrific form of late, in ODIs and T20Is. “He became the superhero and I feel he will definitely get the chance. Also, for Rahul, his dismissal today clearly shows that he is going through a rough time. He has a lot of quality, and he is a big player, but his numbers could have been a lot better,” Singh added.
Harbhajan further suggested that Rahul must take some time off and play some domestic cricket, and score runs there to gain confidence. “I consider him as one of the top batters in world cricket, let alone the Indian team. I think it will be good for KL Rahul to take some time off and play some domestic cricket, try and score runs and get his confidence back up. He is a quality player, there is no doubt about it,” Singh concluded.