ICC World Cup 2019: 2 selections in the Indian squad that may turn out to be blunders

#2 Selecting KL Rahul

KL Rahul

Though there has never been any doubt about the cricketing skills of KL Rahul, his international form over the past one year has been a big worry. Despite been given ample opportunities, the 26-year-old just could not regain his rhythm in any format and proved to be the biggest disappointment for Team India.

And yet, the Indian selectors have gone ahead and picked Rahul as a reserve opener.

More than anything else, the selection appears to be forced due to lack of options available for the top order and also influenced (the selectors may not agree openly) by his recent exceptional performance in IPL 2019 (8 games, 335 runs, average 67, strike rate 130.85).

Rahul has played a total of just 14 ODIs and has managed to score only 343 runs at a very mediocre average of 34.3 and a strike rate of 80.89. Not only does the Karnataka player lack the much-needed experience for the high-intensity tournament but also, his recent performances have been quite dreadful.

To make the situation worse, his last English outing (2018) was a massive disaster wherein he could score a mere total of 299 runs in as many as 8 Test innings - a total that was boosted considerably thanks to a century (149) in his very last innings.

It would have made a lot more sense to select someone like Ajinkya Rahane (90 ODIs), who has far more experience and is well-suited to English conditions.