Gambhir, Rohit’s strategy called out over unfair KL Rahul decision: The first Test between India and Bangladesh was won handily on Sunday in Chennai, but after reviewing the play, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra identified two occasions in which captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir could have made alternative decisions. In light of the criticism he has been receiving, KL Rahul felt that the team management might have approached the situation differently.
Rahul appeared to be playing well during his 52-ball stay in the first innings of the game at MA Chidambaram Stadium, but a misplayed shot saw him dismissed for 16 runs. He scored 22 off of 19 in the second inning, displaying confidence once more. But during his unbeaten century, Rohit called the innings at 287/4.
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Aakash stated on his YouTube channel that even though the hosts won by 280 runs on Day 4, with nearly five sessions remaining, they should have given Rahul a little more time at the crease and perhaps even reached his half-century mark.
He explained: “One-and-a-half days were left, you have won by 280 runs, you didn’t give the follow-on as well, you were not falling short of time, there was no rain coming, so could we have allowed KL Rahul to score 60-70 runs?”
The former opener for India believed that neither the outcome nor any player’s workload would have changed if they had batted for a further hour on Day 3.
You might have given him the opportunity because it was an option, and it wouldn’t have affected the outcome of the game as a whole. That’s the starting point. It wouldn’t have affected how well you managed your workload. If a player on a 19-ball 22 had played for an hour to an hour and a half, it wouldn’t have affected your health when it wasn’t affecting anything,” he continued.
‘He is no Sachin Tendulkar’
The iconic Sachin Tendulkar was on 194 in a Test match against Pakistan in Multan back in 2004 when former captain Rahul Dravid made his famous declaration call, which Aakash then brought up. Rahul is a pure batter who was dropped to the No. 6 spot in the lineup, thus Aakash thought that Rahul earned the chance, even if he made it clear that he is not comparing the two batters.
“The road appears clear when you look back and observe.” When Rahul (Dravid) made his announcement in Multan, Paaji (Sachin Tendulkar) was on 194. When asked the same question after the match on the fourth evening, David replied he wouldn’t have declared if he had known,” Aakash remarked.
“He is KL Rahul and not Sachin Tendulkar; I’m not suggesting he was at 195 here. He’s now at No. 6 because of you. No. 6 is not where proper batters play. Thus, it seemed plausible to me to consider thinking about him. Since it was not affecting the outcome of the match, they ought to have given him some consideration.”
