As a bowler, you have a chance against Glenn Maxwell but not against KL Rahul: Wasim Akram

After his return from injury in the Asia Cup 2023, KL Rahul was subjected to trolls, with many questioning his spot in the playing XI, especially given how well Ishan Kishan has done in his absence. However, the Bangalore-born cricketer has been exceptional since his comeback. He was India’s third-leading run-scorer in the Asia Cup, behind Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma and in the ongoing ODI World Cup, Rahul already has 347 runs to his name in nine matches.

Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram is thus impressed with his performance at number five for India and stated that bowlers may have a chance against Glenn Maxwell but not against KL Rahul. Notably, in the last last league game against Netherlands, Rahul went on to hit the fastest century by an Indian in ODI World Cup history, managing to reach the milestone in just 62 deliveries. Following the same, Akram called him a proper technical batter and lauded him for his success in all three formats of the game.

“Against Maxwell, as a bowler, you know that you will get a chance but with Rahul, it is not the case. He is a proper technical batter. He has opened in the Test cricket, ODIs and T20Is. Now he has been given a different role and he is excelling in it,” Akram said as quoted by Indian Express.

India have got the best batter at number five: Shoaib Malik

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik compared KL Rahul with Heinrich Klaasen and mentioned that India have got the better batter at number five position. While justifying his point, Malik stated that Rahul can not only control the situation at number five but can also finish matches and play at a good strike rate if required.

“The best at No 5 in the world cricket. Klassen (Heinrich) needs a base to get going. But if you compare, India have got the best batter at 5, who can play in any sort of situation. If India lose two or three wickets early, he is someone, who can play according to the situation. He can finish the match, can improvise, can play with a good strike rate, and we have seen it today. He is good against spinners as well as the pacers. He picks the gaps and plays the field. Against Australia, we have seen, he was the one who finished the match,” Malik said.