Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Rahul ready to don keeper role 'whenever the team wants'

Written by 
Published in Cricket
Sunday, 04 December 2022 07:58
KL Rahul is unaware of the exact reason why Rishabh Pant has been released from India's ODI squad in Bangladesh. He is, however, ready to play the wicketkeeper's role - as he did in the first ODI on Sunday - whenever required to in white-ball cricket.
"We haven't played a lot of ODIs in the last 6-7 months, but if you look at, since 2020 or 2021, I have kept wickets in the one-day format, and I have batted at No. 4 and No. 5 in the middle order," Rahul said at his press conference after India's one-wicket defeat in Mirpur. "It's a role the team has asked me to be ready for."
The BCCI release that announced Pant's withdrawal from the ODI squad was worded opaquely - it simply said he had been released "in consultation with the BCCI medical team" - and Rahul had no additional information to share.

"When it comes to Rishabh I'm not very aware, to be honest. I just found out today, in the dressing room, that he's been released - I don't know what the reasons are, I think the medical team will be in a better situation to answer that question.

"But this is a role that the team's always asked me to be ready for in white-ball cricket, and I've done it before, and whenever the team wants me to play this role, I play this role."

Rahul top-scored with 73 off 70 balls in an India total of 186, and looked far more fluent than any of his team-mates on a tricky pitch with uneven bounce and natural variation of turn. He was pleased with the fruits of his efforts to adapt to the conditions in Mirpur, but felt he could have carried on for longer and stretched India's total past 230. As it happened, he was ninth out in the 40th over, and India were bowled out in the 42nd.

"It was just one of those days where, out of everybody else, I looked like I was timing the ball better and the shots that I picked, fortunately for me, went to the boundary, or every option that I took went my way," Rahul said. "Something that I've been working on even in the last couple of sessions that we've been here in Bangladesh.,

"The pitches, even at the back [nets], have been quite similar to what we got in the middle today, so I tried to challenge myself. All the preparation happens before the game, so quite pleased with such innings really give you joy as a batter, because you're challenged and you have to really put your hand up when your team requires, so I enjoyed my batting today.

"But I would have ideally liked 30-40 more runs towards the end. I did fancy 230-240 if I batted till the end. [Mohammed] Siraj was batting well with me, so if I could have batted another 10 overs and got another 30-40 runs, it could have made a difference."

India's total of 186, in the end, proved to be nearly enough, with Bangladesh storming to victory thanks to an improbable, unbroken last-wicket stand of 51 between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman. The pair rode their luck - Rahul ran from his wicketkeeping post all the way to deep backward square leg to put down a steepling top-edge from Mehidy - but Rahul was philosophical about the way the result went.

"Towards the end, there was only one way they could have won, and I think Mehidy Hasan played a phenomenal innings," he said. "He took a few chances, took some big risks - which he had to, towards the end, he had to take those big risks and play those big shots - and he found the boundary, and when you only have 30-35 runs [to get], one or two big shots also puts pressure on the opposition and he did that really well.

"And yeah, also a couple of dropped chances didn't help us. Happens in cricket, and yeah, today, Bangladesh fought really hard till the end and they won the game today but we made a few mistakes and we'll learn from it and come back stronger."

Read 151 times

Soccer

Welcome to ... Wroxham? Meet the tiny club often confused with the Welsh sensation

Welcome to ... Wroxham? Meet the tiny club often confused with the Welsh sensation

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWROXHAM (NOT WREXHAM), England -- Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney...

Lampard: Chelsea interim stint like 'babysitting'

Lampard: Chelsea interim stint like 'babysitting'

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNewly appointed Coventry City manager Frank Lampard said he was rea...

Amorim: Utd have 'no excuses' not to beat Everton

Amorim: Utd have 'no excuses' not to beat Everton

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsRuben Amorim is adamant there will be "no excuses" if Manchester Un...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Leaks, team meetings, losses: The factors driving the Sixers' dreadful start

Leaks, team meetings, losses: The factors driving the Sixers' dreadful start

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsTHE JULY 6 POST on Daryl Morey's Instagram page is even more perfec...

Injury-plagued Beal hobbles off in loss to Nets

Injury-plagued Beal hobbles off in loss to Nets

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPHOENIX -- Suns guard Bradley Beal limped off the court in the four...

Baseball

Dodgers minor leaguer suspended for doping

Dodgers minor leaguer suspended for doping

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Jose D. Hernandez was sus...

Crawford, 2-time WS champ with Giants, retires

Crawford, 2-time WS champ with Giants, retires

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsSAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon Crawford is retiring after 14 major league...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated