India vs Australia: MSK Prasad reasons KL Rahul’s inclusion in the ODI and T20I squads

Before the World Cup in England and Wales, India have most boxes ticked and are looking in pretty good shape. The Men in Blue are International Cricket Council’s (ICC) number-two ranked ODI team and many have already touted Virat Kohli and Co to become the champions. However, the team management has a few headaches to deal with, one of them is the form of top-order batsman KL Rahul.

He hasn’t had the best of outings of late in the international circuit. Moreover, he was also slapped with a suspension after he attended the Koffee With Karan television show. Nevertheless, he has been included for the ODI and T20I series against Australia at home that is scheduled to start on February 24. In the meantime, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad revealed the reasons behind Rahul’s inclusion.

“At such a major tournament [World Cup], we can’t afford to go in without a third opener. That’s why we have included KL Rahul for the T20Is and the ODIs against Australia. We have to see how he performs because his form is also very important,” Prasad was quoted as saying in Hotstar.

Rahul’s poor run of form

The 26-year-old Rahul staked his claim into the Indian team after a stupendous campaign in the Indian Premier League. He scored a T20I century against England but entered into a slump thereafter. The youngster flattered to deceive, in all the formats. He failed in the Test series against the Three Lions and then couldn’t live up to expectations in the home series against the Windies.

Despite these failures, the selectors persisted with him and selected him for the Test, ODI and T20I series in Australia. To his dismay, he floundered and was eventually dropped for the New Zealand limited-overs fixtures. Needless to say that the upcoming series against Aaron Finch’s men could turn out to be a make-or-break affair for the Karnataka-batsman going into the World Cup.

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