ICC Champions Trophy 2025 : “I Am Quite Used To Seeing It & Hearing It”- KL Rahul Opens Up On Changing Batting Positions

KL Rahul has often been moved up and down in the Indian lineup, fairly or otherwise. He has batted anywhere from No. 1 to much lower in the order, and understandably shifting positions and adapting to the team’s needs has not been easy. However, he has acknowledged that while it hasn’t been simple, it’s also unavoidable. Do-your-job has been his mantra.

In 82 ODIs, KL Rahul has batted in various positions: 16 times at No. 1, seven times at No. 2, three times at No. 3, 13 times at No. 4, 31 times at No. 5, and six times at No. 6. Primarily a career opener,  KL Rahul has even batted as low as No. 7 on one occasion.

KL Rahul’s international career for India in white ball cricket

KL Rahul has been India’s go-to wicketkeeper-batsman since the ODI World Cup 2023, taking three catches and inflicting two stumpings in three ODIs. During the event, he had an incredible campaign, scoring 2 fifties and 452 runs from 10 innings at an average of 75.33. KL Rahul helped India chase down 201 in the opening game against Australia with a fantastic performance of 97* (115) under pressure.

Against the Netherlands, he also hit the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in the history of the competition, doing so in just 62 balls. In addition, with 17 dismissals—16 catches and one stumping—he inflicted the second-highest amount in the tournament. However, since returning to international cricket following a 15-month injury layoff, Pant has only participated in one ODI.

In his lone appearance against Sri Lanka in the third ODI in August 2024, the southpaw took one catch and batted six (9). KL Rahul will play as India’s wicketkeeper in the Champions Trophy as the management once again showed faith in his glovework due to his tremendous performances with both bat and gloves.

Rishabh Pant was consequently forced to warm the bench during the three-match rubber and was not given the opportunity to play in the starting lineup. KL Rahul’s batting performance was poor in the first two games of the series, as he was bowled for two and ten, respectively. In the third game, he finally regained his form, scoring 40 (29) to help India reach 356.

India beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Thursday, February 20. Bowling first, the Men in Blue held Bangladesh to 228 and then chased down the total in 46.3 overs. Like in the ODIs against England, KL Rahul was again preferred over Pant. He contributed an unbeaten 41 off 47 balls and was also sharp with the gloves in hand.

Despite KL Rahul’s impressive performance with bat and behind the stumps in ODIs, some fans and experts still reckon that India are making a mistake by leaving Pant out of the playing XI.

KL Rahul reacts to constant scrutiny over his batting ahead of match vs NZ in CT 2025

Team India’s keeper-batter KL Rahul has revealed that he does keep a tab of the criticism around his batting, which can get quite harsh at times. He also asserted that he does take the brickbats into account if they are valid.

KL Rahul is one of the most trolled cricketers in India. Despite being hugely talented, he has failed to live up to expectations on a number of occasions. However, while he has been disappointing in Test cricket and T20Is, the 32-year-old batter’s ODI numbers are pretty good.

The Karnataka cricketer will next be seen in action when India take on New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday, March 2 in their third and final group match of the 2025 Champions Trophy. At a press conference ahead of the game, KL Rahul shared his views on constantly being under scrutiny over his batting performances. Responding to a query, he said (as quoted by Cricbuzz):

“I’m quite used to seeing it and hearing it and reading about it. Yeah, And sometimes I just sit back and see whether the criticism is valid. I will fail sometimes, I will make mistakes, I will make mistakes in reading the game and that’s the beauty of sport and for me if my heart is in the right place and if I am thinking that this is the best way for me to win the game, then I can go back home and sleep peacefully.

“But I mean, yes, I do read about it. And if it’s valid, then I’ll take it into account,” he went on to add.

KL Rahul scored a vital 41* off 47 balls in India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh in Dubai. Chasing a target of 229, the Men in Blue were in a spot of bother at 144-4. However, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill (101* off 129) guided India home with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 87 runs.

KL Rahul on moving up and down the order in ODIs

While KL Rahul can be criticized for his batting at times, one would find it difficult to fault his commitment to the team’s cause. When Rishabh Pant was unavailable due to his car accident, he took the gloves in ODIs. The 32-year-old has also been constantly shunted up and down the order during his one-day career.

Admitting that not having a fixed batting position is tough, Rahul commented:

“It’s never easy for anyone on the team to be moving in different places but yeah, that’s, that’s how the game goes. Whatever the team thinks is the best possible combination and what they feel is the best entry points for the player, you leave it up to the team to decide and you just try and do your job.”

Despite being moved up and down the order, the elegant batter from Karnataka averages 48.26 from 82 one-day matches at a strike rate of 87.74. He has seven hundreds and 18 half-centuries to his name in the ODI format.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights