'Someone like him with kind of shots he has...' - Sunil Gavaskar terms star India batter as 'allrounder'

Sunil Gavaskar (Source: Twitter)

India did not have a good start in the ODIs after their shock semifinal exit from the 20-20 World Cup 2022. They lost the three-match ODI series to New Zealand 1-0 and then did not have a good start against Bangladesh as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and lost a low-scoring thriller by 1 wicket.

India’s bright spot from the first ODI was KL Rahul as he scored a stroke-filled 73 off 70 balls with five fours and four sixes that helped India to 186. Though Rahul has copped a fair bit of flak for the dropped catch of Mehidy Hasan, he has received support from Sunil Gavaskar who called Rahul an allrounder.

"He has been batting for India at No.5 with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening the batting most of the time and Virat Kohli at No.3. He has been batting at No.5 for a while now. Maybe that is the position that he is looking to consolidate. What that does is it gives India the extra option. If you have somebody as a middle-order option who can keep wickets then you can look at taking another bowler," Gavaskar told on Sony Sports.

He has a wide range of shots - Sunil Gavaskar on KL Rahul

"I call him an all-rounder because he can keep wickets, he can open the batting and can bat at number five. KL Rahul is an all-rounder as far as I am concerned. And someone like him with the kind of experience he has and the range of shots he has, he is the kind of finisher you want at No.5 or 6," Gavaskar added. Rahul is not new to the role as he performed it with considerable ease in 2019.

India needs to get their combinations right ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup which will be held on home soil for the first time since 2011. They also need to play spin better and figure out methods on how to play on low slow wickets. The conditions in Bangladesh are similar to those in India.