“KL Rahul has been given enough chances” - Danish Kaneria backs Shubman Gill for 2023 World Cup 

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has said that Team India must start giving more chances to young opener Shubman Gill, keeping the 2023 ODI World Cup in mind. Unimpressed with KL Rahul, he said that the batter has been given enough opportunities but has not repaid the faith shown in him.

Rahul was part of India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia. He scored half-centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but failed against the bigger teams. The 30-year-old has an impressive one-day record, averaging 45 in 45 matches. However, Kaneria feels Gill would be a better option for India in next year’s one-day World Cup.

With Rahul being rested for the ongoing tour of New Zealand, Gill is likely to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the one-dayers, which begin on Friday (November 25). Backing Gill to continue in the role even after the New Zealand series, Kaneria said on his YouTube channel:

“India will have to look at Shubman Gill, keeping the (2023) World Cup in mind. He is a fantastic player. Rohit Sharma will remain captain in ODIs, but he will need good players. KL Rahul has been given enough chances, but he did not deliver. He was not consistent. But Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson have been giving consistent performances.”

Earlier in the year, Gill impressed in the one-dayers during India’s tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe. He was Player of the Series in both series for his consistent performances.

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“You need to show that energy” - Kaneria impressed with Hardik Pandya’s captaincy

While discussing the performances of Team India players in the T20Is in New Zealand, Kaneria also praised Hardik Pandya for his energetic leadership. Saying that the team was missing something under Rohit Sharma, the former player elaborated:

“Rohit hasn’t been bad as a leader, but they were missing some aggression and energy, something which we saw when Virat Kohli was captain. When you have a player like Suryakumar Yadav in your team, you need to show that energy. The way Pandya batted on Tuesday (in the third T20I), his 30* off 18 was very crucial."

He added:

“Pandya’s captaincy was really good. The way he excelled as a leader, it looks like he will be the captain of the Indian T20I team in the future,” Kaneria predicted.

In the aftermath of India’s failure to win the T20 World Cup, former players, including Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, have backed Pandya as the team’s next T20I captain.