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Team India began their preparations for the much-awaited of ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 with the three-match ODI series against England. The hosts started on a positive note as they defeated the Three Lions by four wickets, courtesy a match-winning knock from vice-captain Shubman Gill, along with fifty-plus scores from Shreyas Iyer (59) and Axar Patel (52).
Veteran Indian batter Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, who was picked over Rishabh Pant, however did not have a great outing as they were dismissed at the scores of two each. Seeing their poor run of form continue, former India cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed KL for his poor show with the bat. It is to be noted that KL Rahul scored 276 runs at an average of 30.66 in BGT 2024-25.
He should play his natural game: Sunil Gavaskar’s advice to KL Rahul
KL Rahul walked in to bat when India needed 28 runs to win the match. With Shubman Gill batting at the other end at the score of 81, KL Rahul chipped an Adil Rashid delivery straight into the hands of the bowler, getting out at the score of two off nine deliveries. Speaking during his commentary stint, legend Sunil Gavaskar blasted at Rahul for playing a half-hearted shot.
"He should play his natural game. He is prodding to make sure his partner has a chance of getting a hundred. Look what happened. This is exactly what I was talking about. This is a team game, you don't have to do that. He was looking to tap the ball to help his partner get to a century. It was a half-hearted shot," the legendary India batter said. While KL Rahul failed to make a mark, he will look to come out good in the second ODI, scheduled to be played on Sunday, February 9 at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
India squad for ODI series against England
Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
