Asia Cup 2023: It could be KL Rahul vs Shreyas Iyer for a middle-order spot, says Sunil Gavaskar

Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar feels there could be a tussle between KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for the middle-order spot in the Super Fours stage of the ongoing Asia Cup. Iyer could only score 14 runs in the opening game of the Asia Cup against Pakistan at Pallekele on Saturday after returning from injury.

Iyer did not get to bat against Nepal whereas KL Rahul missed the group stage of the continental tournament due to a niggle. As Ishan Kishan grabbed his chance in the high-octane clash against Pakistan, scoring a fine knock of 82 runs off just 81 balls, he is expected to keep his place in the starting XI in the Super Fours stage.

“It could be a fight between KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the Super Fours in the Asia Cup. With the kind of form that Ishan Kishan showcased against Pakistan… if both Rahul and Ishan play, it might be a good idea to let Ishan keep wickets because if Rahul has undergone recovery from an injury, then getting up and down might be a bit of an issue. It makes sense to have Ishan to keep wickets. It could actually be a fight between Shreyas and KL Rahul for the No. 4 and No. 5 positions,” Gavaskar said on India Today.

On the other hand, KL Rahul was picked for India’s World Cup squad on Tuesday. The Little Master said Rahul is a proven customer and thus the selectors have backed him.

Rahul has scored 1986 runs in 54 ODI matches at an average of 45.14. The 31-year-old right-hander has done a fantastic job while batting at number five for the national team, scoring 742 runs in 18 ODIs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 99.33 while batting at that position.

“He is a proven performer with the bat and when you have been a proven performer, you get a bit of leeway. That’s exactly what has happened in this instance. It can be a bit of a worry that he hasn’t played any cricket. Now, you are flying him to Sri Lanka, he will be able to play a few matches and then you see his fitness.

“You have 3 ODIs against Australia in the 3rd week of September. You can still have a replacement in the World Cup. There is a technical committee of the ICC that will assess the injury and decide whether there can be a replacement or not. I don’t think there should be a problem with that,” he added.

INDIA ODI WORLD CUP SQUAD

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj