Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has showered rich praise on KL Rahul after his stunning century in the third and final ODI against the West Indies on Saturday, October 3. Chopra has called KL Rahul one of the most versatile cricketers in the world.
He praised Rahul’s ability to adjust to different formats and difficult situations. KL Rahul did not get a chance to bat in the first two ODIs against the West Indies, but when India needed him in the third ODI in New Chandigarh, he impressed everyone with his performance. Earlier, Shreyas Iyer confirmed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s axing from West Indies T20Is.
KL Rahul smashed a stunning unbeaten 129 off just 87 balls and helped India recover from a shocking 4/2 start in the third and final ODI against the West Indies in New Chandigarh. The right-handed batter smashed 10 fours and six sixes during his brilliant innings.
His aggressive batting helped India reach 351/7 in 50 overs after the early setback. However, India lost the match by five wickets to the West Indies in New Chandigarh.
After the Men in Blue clinched the ODI series 2-1, Aakash Chopra highlighted how Rahul has handled completely different roles in his career. He can spend an entire day defending in a Test match in SENA conditions, score at a huge rate in the IPL, and now play the difficult No. 5 or No. 6 role in ODIs.
Aakash Chopra was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo, "The most versatile cricketer on the planet. Across three formats, actually, you will struggle to find people who are that versatile. I mean, you just look at the range. He is the same guy who would defend for an entire day in a Test match as an opener in SENA countries. He is the same guy who plays the IPL and scores 160 or more runs in double quick time.”
Aakash Chopra hails KL Rahul for mastering ODI's toughest role
The biggest challenge for a middle-order batter is often waiting for a chance when the team is in trouble. Rahul has handled that role extremely well and has delivered every time when India has needed him, as pointed out by the cricket pundit.
The former Indian opener added, “And he is the same guy who is now asked to play a very different role. The toughest role in ODI cricket. Come bat at 5 or 6, and you will be required only when things go bad. And he turns up every time.” Amid this, Watch: Virat Kohli’s hilarious dance lesson for Yashasvi Jaiswal goes viral.
Aakash Chopra names KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer among ODI’s best middle-order batters
Chopra then picked Rahul and India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer among the best middle-order batters in ODI cricket at present. The commentator believes that moving a natural top-three batter to No. 5 or No. 6 can reduce his impact, but Rahul, who is “actually a natural opener," has now become a dependable middle-order player who can finish innings strongly.
He signed off by saying, “Well, he is right up there. I think Shreyas Iyer's numbers must also be quite handsome. He is a very good middle-order batter. Controls the innings quite nicely. Champions Trophy, as much as it was about Rahul finishing the innings, it was also equally about Shreyas holding the middle order together. So, these two for sure.”
Rahul has now played 101 ODIs and amassed 3,541 runs at an average of 51.31 and a strike rate of 92.38 so far. He has nine centuries and 20 half-centuries to his name in the ODI format.
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