“Even the spare tyre is not used as much” - Former India opener slams KL Rahul’s usage ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy final

Former opening batter Navjot Singh Sidhu lambasted Team India management for mistreating KL Rahul with his erratic usage in the playing XI over the years. The Karnataka batter currently features as a wicket-keeper, a middle-order batter in ODIs, a top-order batter in Tests, and completely out of the T20I side.

KL Rahul began his international career as a top-order batter, but moved to the middle-order in white-ball cricket for a brief while, before earning a promotion up the order yet again. In red-ball cricket, he was the first-choice opener for a long while, before he was ousted. In his comeback, he failed to find a spot in the top order with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill operating.

Rahul is now once again in contention to play as an opener after his promising set of outings in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series.

Sidhu dissected all the roles that KL Rahul has had to play over the years, being offered little to no security, and always having to prove his place in the team.

"KL Rahul, you see, even the spare tyre is not used as much. You play him as a wicketkeeper, as No. 6, as an opener, then when BGT comes you play him at No. 3. Then you tell him to open. I tell you one thing. Opening in ODIs is the easiest, but doing it in Tests is the toughest. He is a selfless player," Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Star Sports (via NDTV).

KL Rahul has come to India's rescue on multiple occasions in the 2025 Champions Trophy already. Batting at No.6, he has had to navigate through some tricky situations, and play match-winning hands in the group stage win over Bangladesh, and the semi-final clash against Australia.

"Sometimes I'm sitting there thinking what more can I do" - KL Rahul

KL Rahul's spot was in question once again before the 2025 Champions Trophy, as he was up against Rishabh Pant for the wicket-keeping role. The left-handed batter's ability as an X-Factor was highlighted by several, but the management kept their faith in Rahul who has settled into the middle-order role at this point.

Rahul admitted feeling frustrated regarding the uncertainty of his position in the team over the years.

"It's since I think 2020 that 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," KL Rahul said after India's semifinal win (via ESPN Cricinfo).

KL Rahul will be in action in the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 9.