"KL Rahul should have been given a chance to find his form" - Basit Ali on India's declaration in IND vs BAN 2024 1st Test

Basit Ali believes that the Indian team management missed the trick by declaring their second innings on Day 3 of the ongoing Chennai Test against Bangladesh. The Men in Blue declared at 287/4, setting a massive 515-run target on Saturday, September 21.

In his latest YouTube video, Basit suggested that the Indian batters should have batted longer. He opined that KL Rahul should have been given a chance to get some runs under his belt.

The cricketer-turned-expert remarked (from 0:22):

"India declaring their innings was a bad decision. KL Rahul should have been given a chance to find his form since he didn't score big runs in the Duleep Trophy. India would have benefited more if Rahul scored 70-80 runs here because he bats at a position which will be crucial in Australia."

It is worth mentioning that KL Rahul was dismissed cheaply in India's first innings after scoring 16 runs off 52 balls. He was batting on 22 runs in the subsequent essay when India decided to declare their innings. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant notched up fine centuries, scoring 119* and 109, respectively.

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"Rishabh Pant played like how you bat on Australian pitches" - Basit Ali

Basit Ali seemed mighty impressed by Rishabh Pant's batting exploits in the Chennai Test. He reckoned that the southpaw played the kind of shots that would be useful during India's tour of Australia later this year.

Lauding Pant for making a fantastic return to Test cricket following his tragic car accident in 2022, Basit said in the aforementioned video (from 1:37):

"Rishabh Pant played like how you bat on Australian pitches. I liked seeing the shots he played because many people had said that he might never return to the field after the accident. We must give the credit as he worked very hard after the injury. He came back with full confidence and ticked all the boxes that you need in Test cricket."

With his sixth Test century, Rishabh Pant equaled MS Dhoni's record of hitting the most Test tons by an Indian wicketkeeper.