“KL Rahul is one of our main players” – India batting coach Vikram Rathour

India batting coach Vikram Rathour has backed KL Rahul, calling him one of the main players in the team. He also termed the team's bench strength a “good problem”, dismissing the fact that it creates insecurity to the players in the first XI.

India’s batting let them down in the third T20I against England as the visitors took a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Opening the innings, KL Rahul was bowled for a duck – the third time he failed to trouble the scorers in four T20I innings.

After India’s defeat, captain Virat Kohli, in the post-match presentation, backed KL Rahul to come good. Vikram Rathour echoed the captain’s views in the press conference.

“The bench strength doesn’t make the players in the XI insecure. As team management, it’s our role to build that confidence. Every cricketer can go through a lean phase. If you are talking about KL Rahul, he has done so well for us in the past year and therefore, a couple of failures doesn’t change the fact. He is one of our main players,” said Vikram Rathour.

Ranked third in the ICC T20I Ranking for batters, KL Rahul remains India’s highest-ranked T20I batsman. Not only did he win the Orange Cap in IPL 2020, but also ended the year as the second-highest run-getter in T20Is.

Strong bench strength is a good problem to have: Vikram Rathour

Ishan Kishan scored a fifty on his international debut on Sunday

Ishan Kishan’s success on his T20I debut on Sunday was another example of India’s bench strength. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has further helped the country produce a crop of young cricketers who seem ready for international cricket.

“That’s (bench strength) a good problem to have. It’s great to have this kind of bench strength. We have a lot of players who can come in and fill places if a need arises. As the team management, we have to pick the best XI and accordingly, we back the players. Unless there’s a massive fall in form or a major injury, we must stick to our best XI,” said Vikram Rathour, who played 13 internationals for India between 1996 and 1997.

With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year, Team India are using this series to zero in on a batting order for the mega tournament.