NEW DELHI: Throwing his weight behind an out of form KL Rahul, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir backed the middle order batsman to come good in the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.
Addressing a press conference in Pune on the eve of the second Test on Wednesday, Gambhir said that the team management is looking to back Rahul to strike form.
On Rahul facing criticism on social media for his poor form specially in the first Test in Bengaluru, Gambhir said that it’s not important what’s on social media.
“First of all, social media does not matter one bit. You do not pick players because of the social media or what the experts think. What the team management thinks, what the leadership group thinks, is very very important. Ultimately, everyone is judged, international cricket is about being judged. Everyone’s performance will be judged eventually,” Gambhir said.
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Already trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, India need a win, not just in a bid to clinch the series but also to keep them in the hunt for a World Test Championship final spot.
Rahul was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru and made 12 in the second essay as the hosts lost the game by eight wickets.
“But I feel he (Rahul) is batting really well, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur, obviously on a difficult wicket and he played according to the plans. I am sure he would be knowing that he wants to score big runs, he has that capability of scoring these big runs that is why he is being backed by the team management,” Gambhir added.
Sarfaraz Khan’s first Test ton has left India weighing a problem of plenty, with Shubman Gill set to return in the second match and management backing Rahul, who has struggled with patchy batting form.
“There’s certainly no concerns about KL,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had said on Tuesday.
“He’s batting nicely, he’s in a good mental space, but yeah, we’re certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what’s going to be best for the team,” Doeschate added.
