‘Have been assigned this role by the team’- KL Rahul shares stance on role as wicketkeeper and no. 4 batter

Team India lost the first of the three-match ODI series to hosts Bangladesh by a narrow margin of a wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. KL Rahul, who returned to the side following a short break that he took from the recently concluded New Zealand series, shared his stance on the role assigned by his team.

The Men in Blue had an underwhelming outing with the bat against the Bangla Tigers as star wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul scored 73 runs to help the side attain a total of 186 in 41.2 overs. The batter who came out at the no. 5 spot opined that he has been assigned the role by the management after careful assessment and also issued a clarification for Rishabh Pant’s exclusion.

"We have not played many ODIs in the past 6-7 months but if you look from 2020-'21, I have kept wickets and batted at four. I have been assigned this role by the team. I don't exactly know the reason for (Rishabh) Pant's release. The medical team will be able to tell why Pant was released," told KL Rahul after the match.

Bangladesh fought really hard today: KL Rahul

The wicketkeeper-batter spoke about the match and stated that the rival side fought till the very end which is why they obtained the desired result in the narrow win.

"You can expect the unexpected in this game. Such games keep happening, that's cricket. The game is never won till the last ball. Mehidy's innings and the way they fought till the end made the difference. One or two dropped chances hurt us too,” he added.

“But yeah, they played well. Bangladesh fought really hard today. We made some mistakes which we need to learn from and come back strongly. He (Mehidy) took risks and found the boundary. Bangladesh are playing at home and they are good here. They pose a tough challenge," concluded Rahul.