Harbhajan Singh, a former spinner for India, weighed in into the Shubman Gill vs. KL Rahul discussion after the latter’s removal from the vice leadership of team India on Sunday.
“Yes because he is longer the vice-captain now. The team was just announced now and I feel the reason why he hasn’t been named the vice-captain is because Shubman Gill will be picked for the next match over KL Rahul,” Harbhajan told India Today.
“Gill has been in terrific form of late, in ODIs and T20Is. He became the super hero and I feel he will definitely get the chance. Also for Rahul, his dismissal today clearly shows that he is going through a rough time. He has a lot of quality and his a big player but his numbers could have been a lot better,” he said.
Following the six-wicket victory over Australia in Delhi, the selectors announced an unchanged roster for the remaining two Border-Gavaskar Trophy games, and Rahul was retained in the Test lineup. Rahul has scored 20, 17, and 1 in the series thus far with Shubman Gill warming the bench. When he captained the team in the two-Test series in Bangladesh last year, the opener similarly had a rough time.
“I consider him as one of the top batters in world cricket, let alone the Indian team. I think it will be good for KL Rahul to take come time off and play some domestic cricket, try and score runs and get his confidence back up. Then bring him back, he is a quality player, there’s no doubt about it,” Harbhajan further added.
Rahul Dravid, the team’s head coach, stated that the management would like to give the out-of-form Rahul a lengthier run. Rohit, the team’s captain, supported Rahul after Sunday’s victory in Kotla.
“Of late, there has been lot of talk on his batting. But for us as team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL. I have been asked in the past about lot of players. If a guy has potential, guys will get that extended run,” Rohit said.
