Former India captain and ex-chief selector Kris Srikkanth has criticised Gautam Gambhir’s handling of KL Rahul during the ODI series against England, calling the decision to push the experienced batter down to No. 6 a “gross injustice.”
The criticism comes after a disappointing UK tour in which India lost the T20I series against England and Ireland before suffering a 2-1 defeat in the ODI series against England. Several tactical decisions made by the team management have come under scrutiny, with the batting order emerging as one of the biggest talking points.
Rahul featured in only two of the three ODIs after missing the second match due to illness. In both games, he batted at No. 6 and managed scores of 1 and 12. The decision attracted particular attention in the series decider at Lord’s, where India promoted Ishan Kishan to No. 4 after Virat Kohli, while Shreyas Iyer also batted ahead of KL Rahul.
The move failed to pay off as Kishan scored 14 and Iyer was dismissed for a duck. Rahul eventually walked in with the required run rate climbing rapidly, leaving him with little time to build an innings. He made 12 off eight balls before Jofra Archer dismissed him, with England securing a 27-run victory to seal the series.
Srikkanth argued that Rahul’s case was not an isolated one and pointed to India’s handling of players during the T20I leg of the tour.
Sanju Samson was dropped after three consecutive failures, returned for the fifth and final T20I, but was omitted again for the subsequent Zimbabwe series. Similarly, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi featured in the opening three matches before being left out after failing to make an immediate impact.
According to Srikkanth, such frequent changes prevent players from settling into defined roles and create unnecessary uncertainty within the batting unit. The ODI series defeat marked India’s third successive away ODI series loss since Gambhir took charge of the team’s 50-over setup in mid-2024, adding to the questions surrounding the management’s approach.
With India’s next assignments approaching, the focus will be on whether the team sticks with its experimental strategy or settles on a more consistent batting order as preparations continue for future international tournaments.
Source: Hindustan Times
