Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh has questioned the team management’s decision to rest KL Rahul for the third and final ODI against Afghanistan, scheduled for Saturday, June 20, in Chennai. India made another round of changes after winning the toss and opting to rotate their squad, bringing in Harsh Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna, while Rahul, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav were left out.
Ganesh felt the move made little sense, especially since Rahul had barely spent any time in the middle in the first two ODIs. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter faced just 20 deliveries in the series so far, scoring an unbeaten 39 off 19 balls in one game and getting out for 0 off 1 in the next.
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Reacting on X, Ganesh wrote that KL Rahul did not need the rest and said the call “makes zero sense” considering his limited workload in the series.
KL Rahul didn’t need this rest. He’s played only 20 balls in the series. Absolutely makes zero sense #INDvAFG
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) June 20, 2026
The India batter, meanwhile, continues to hold an impressive ODI record. In 96 matches, Rahul has scored 3,399 runs at an average of 50.73 and a strike rate of 91.00, including 20 fifties and eight centuries. His consistent numbers make him one of India’s most dependable middle-order batters in the 50-over format.
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On the field, Prasidh Krishna made the most of his recall and delivered a strong performance in the dead rubber. Afghanistan chose to bat first but lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early, with Prasidh striking in the second over. He followed it up with the wicket of Rahmat Shah in the sixth over, before dismissing Ibrahim Zadran in the eighth over. The pacer then removed Darwish Rasooli in the 10th over to leave Afghanistan under pressure at 36/4.
At the time of writing, Afghanistan were 79/4 after 16 overs, with Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai at the crease. Prasidh had excellent figures of 4/6 from five overs, while India had already sealed the series with wins in Dharamsala and Lucknow.
