Aakash Chopra, “Formar India’s National Team opener,” has set a debate on KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant for wicketkeeping ahead of the upcoming three-match ODI series against the England National Cricket Team.
Aakash Chopra shared his honest view on Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, who should do the wicketkeeping in the ODI series against England as well as the Champions Trophy 2025.
Rishabh Pant vs KL Rahul For Wicketkeeper Spot In ODI XI in Champions Trophy 2025
Last month, Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma announced the India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and England series at a press conference.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were chosen as the two wicketkeeper-batsmen, and the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan who were ignored by the Indian selectors.
Rahul and Rishabh Pant will be fighting for a place in the India ODI XI, and it will be interesting to see whom the Gautam Gambhir-led team management will prefer.
KL Rahul emerged as India’s first-choice keeper in ODIs after Rishabh Pant. The Karnataka star even kept wickets in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, where he did an excellent job behind the stumps in the unavailability of Rishabh Pant, and with the bat, he smashed 452 runs at an average of 75.33 in 10 innings.
KL Rahul was the main hero in the first match against Australia, where when India came to chase the target, India lost an early wicket where India was 3 wickets down at only 2 runs, and then Rahul and Kohli played a well-deserved inning because India won that match.
Talking about Rishabh Pant, the Delhi star has featured in 31 ODI matches for India, and his record is not good. He has scored just 871 runs at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 106.21, which is so bad compared to KL Rahul, who has amassed 2851 runs in 77 ODIs at an average of 49.15 and a strike rate of 87.56, which is so good compared to Pant.
Pant has solely been added to the squad based on his potential, as many cricket experts call him a ‘generational talent’ who is yet to showcase his full potential in 50-over cricket as well as T20 International.
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Aakash Chopra’s pick for KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant
The former Indian Opening Batsman was speaking about the match that India played against Australia and said the following: ‘He played his part effectively in the World Cup. I remember the Australia match at Chepauk very well. India was down to 25 for 3 something like that, and he straight away put his hand up and scored a match-winning Player of the Match performance.
Rahul kept scoring, and alright, he was a bit slow. Right at the end, he was getting quite a bit of stick for The final, but we may not have ended up where we ended up if he didn’t do what he did and got out instead of batting slow.’
Chopra concluded his thoughts, saying that for him, Rahul is the number one choice wicketkeeper batsman for the ODI, and’mentally’ he should also be that for the coach and captain. “I am going with KL Rahul. I am going with continuity.
Why will you bring in someone who breaks the system without any record of success? Rishabh Pant’s ODI record is still a work in progress, and KL Rahul has been doing quite well and not done anything wrong, so Rahul should be the frontrunner,” said Chopra.
FAQ
Ques-1: What is the full name of Indian player KL Rahul?
The full name of KL Rahul is Kannaur Lokesh Rahul
Ques-2: Who is better compared to KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant?
Rahul averaged 45.08 in his first 31 ODIs. Rishabh Pant averages 33.50 in ODI cricket. Rahul had a batting strike rate of 86.03 after 31 ODIs. Rishabh Pant has a strike rate of 106.21 after 31 ODIs.