India batter KL Rahul hit back at trolls for constantly questioning his position in the ODI team. KL Rahul‘s comments came after the batter took India over the line in the semi-final against Australia.
India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul played a measured knock of 42* off 34 balls against Australia on Tuesday, March 4. His knock helped India get over the line in a tricky chase at the Dubai International Stadium. Speaking after the match, KL Rahul shared his thoughts on his position in the Indian team, his insecurities, and the criticism he faces from trolls on social media.
KL Rahul’s musical chairs in his batting positions in ODI cricket for Team India
After becoming a full-time No. 5 in ODI cricket, KL Rahul had expanded his range as a middle-order batter – since 2020, nobody has a higher average than his 61.52 in that position (for a minimum of 20 innings). Not even Heinrich Klaasen, whose average is about seven points lower than KL Rahul’s.
The batter admitted that it was frustrating to constantly hear the chatter about his batting position, despite executing his role as a finisher perfectly. KL Rahul batted at No. 5 in the 2023 ODI World Cup and scored 452 runs. Aside from the final match of the tournament—where the entire Indian team underperformed—KL Rahul was one of the key reasons India posted massive totals in the competition.
But in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, India were keen to break up the sequence of right-handers and hence decided to promote Axar Patel to No. 5. As a result, KL Rahul dropped down to No. 6, but he’s adapted to that position, too, and has been “working on boundary-hitting a lot more”.
Before the Champions Trophy, there was a toss-up between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the keeper-batter’s spot, but Rahul, the incumbent, eventually got the nod. On Tuesday, KL Rahul went out to bat at the fall of Axar’s wicket, with India needing 86 in 15 overs with six wickets in hand on a tricky Dubai surface. When Virat Kohli holed out for 84, it appeared like Australia had an opening, but KL Rahul slammed the doors on them with an unbeaten 42 off 34 balls, including two fours and two sixes.
Though Dubai had rolled out a fresh pitch for the semi-final, it was still slow and conducive to spin. It was one of those pitches where it was difficult to rotate strike, so KL Rahul felt that it was worth taking a risk every over, especially when Kohli was in supreme control at the other end.
KL Rahul took Tanveer Sangha, Ben Dwarshuis and Adam Zampa for a brace of fours and a six in quick succession before Kohli was caught at long-on. Hardik Pandya did his job but also holed out later, and KL Rahul got the job done with Ravindra Jadeja. In an impromptu interview, KL Rahul mentioned that he had never shied away from delivering whatever was asked of him.
KL Rahul shares his views on his ODI spot being constantly under the scanner
Team India keeper-batter KL Rahul has hinted that he does get frustrated at times with the fact that his place in the one-day team is constantly under the scanner despite his impressive record in the format. He explained that since the ODI series are usually held in a gap of four to five months, people tend to forget his contribution.
India beat Australia by four wickets in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4. Chasing a target of 265, Virat Kohli anchored the chase with 84 off 98 balls, while KL Rahul chipped in with a crucial 42* off 34. The right-hander has been batting at No. 6 in the Champions Trophy, with the left-handed Axar Patel being promoted to the No. 5.
Speaking to Star Sports after India confirmed their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy final, KL Rahul admitted that being constantly under scrutiny does affect him at times. The Karnataka cricketer said (as quoted by ESPNCricinfo):
“Honestly, I mean it’s since I think 2020 I’ve batted at No.5 and a lot of times people forget that that’s where I’ve been batting. And every time I perform in a series and then there’s a break from ODI series, ODI cricket and then we come back after four or five months there’s a question mark again about ‘oh well will he play in the XI, where does he fit’ and sometimes I’m sitting there thinking what more can I do.
“Everywhere that I’ve been asked to play I’ve played and I feel like I have performed my role. Whatever’s been told to me by Rohit [Sharma], Rohit’s been the captain for the last four-five years. And whatever he’s told me I feel like I’ve done that to the best of my ability. And I know that Rohit feels the same and he’s always supported me and backed me with that,” the 32-year-old added.
KL Rahul struck two fours and two sixes in his brisk knock against Australia on Tuesday. The right-handed batter brought up the winning runs in style, launching Glenn Maxwell into the stands for a maximum.
During India’s chase of 265, KL Rahul and Kohli shared a crucial fifth-wicket alliance of 47 runs. It was a crucial stand after Nathan Ellis had knocked over Axar Patel (27). KL Rahul was the aggressor during the partnership, while Kohli rotated the strike until the latter played a false stroke to lose his wicket. Asked about his interaction with Kohli during their stand, the Karnataka batter explained:
“When I walked in and when I played 10-12 balls I told him that you’re the batter that needs to go on and be there till the end. And let me try and hit or let me try and take one chance an over. Because like you said we only needed 6 runs and over. But 6 runs and over on that wicket seemed like 8-8.5. So, you had to take one chance and over, one boundary or one six.
“So, I told him that I will do that and why don’t you just rotate the strike and be there because you’re the set batter and it might be harder. If you get out another set batter comes it becomes a lot more harder. But yeah, he felt like it was in his range to hit and yeah he didn’t time it well,” KL Rahul added.
In 84 ODIs so far, KL Rahul has scored 3,009 runs at an average of 48.53 and a strike rate of 88.03, with seven hundreds and 18 half-centuries. KL Rahul is expected to bat at No. 6 in the final as well. India’s head coach emphasised that the management doesn’t focus on the specific batting number, but rather on the impact an individual can have on the game. India will face the winners of New Zealand and South Africa in the final of the Champions Trophy 2025.