Michael Vaughan is surprised with KL Rahul's exclusion for the 3rd ODI

After two superlative ODIs between England and India, the teams are now in Leeds playing the series decider. Eoin Morgan won the toss and opted to bowl first, Indian skipper, Virat Kohli when he declared the playing XI for the game surprised many as he dropped the middle-order batsman KL Rahul, who is in the middle of a purple patch as far as his batting is concerned and has been hitting really well.

Kohli at the toss mentioned at the toss that Rahul’s exclusion is a tactical change and believes Dinesh Karthik is a better option to play at number four. He further mentioned, that Karthik has been in prime form and was eyeing to get in the mix. Further, the wicketkeeper-batsman proved his stature at this level with his dazzling form in Nidhahas Trophy followed by a memorable eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Surprised with KL Rahul’s exclusion

However, KL Rahul’s exclusion took the former English captain by surprise and while speaking on BBC Test match special, he said, “I’m surprised India have dropped KL Rahul – he’s a wonderful player – but Dinesh Karthik is a good player too. He was a star for India in the Asia Cup and is likely to be MS Dhoni’s replacement when he decides enough is enough.”

His statement made the news also because he sees Dinesh Karthik as the best replacement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It will be interesting to see if DK can leave a mark and seal his name at the number four spot as the position has been up for grabs in the Indian team for a while.

Having lost Rohit Sharma early in the innings, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan are cautious but will have to up the scoring rate soon otherwise will end up posting an under par total.

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