Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin commented on Team India star KL Rahul after the ODI series against the West Indies. Team India won the three-match series 2-1. KL Rahul smashed a brilliant hundred in the third ODI. He scored an
unbeaten 129 off just 87 balls with 10 fours and six maximums at a strike rate of 148.28 as India posted 351/7 as well. Ashwin added that Rahul was often criticised unnecessarily for batting slowly.

“I feel sometimes he receives a lot of criticism for what he doesn’t deserve. He has the game to change gears. Sometimes the complaint is that he bats too slowly. But when you are playing in that batting order, you see how many times Dhoni came at five or six and would take the game deep till the end. It is because in that role, you can never play in one gear all the time. You have to keep changing and it is very complicated,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Why has KL chosen to play that role? I’ll put my money on this. Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, all are there. But if any of these guys bat at five or six where KL does, it will take a lot of time for them to do what he is doing. He has got an all-rounded game. He can play spin, no problem with the short balls, beautiful inside out, runs well between the wickets, has great technique. He also has the power game. He took the bowling apart and the reason West Indies leaked 350 was him,” he further added.

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However, former IPL cricketer Vijay Shankar also applauded KL Rahul. He also explained that it was a difficult position to bat in and applauded him for finding ways to score runs in different situations.

“It is a very difficult role. Sometimes you might lose early wickets and have to go early. Sometimes you may not get to bat at all. As a batter you always have to be ready for anything. The way he does it, he is finding ways to score runs every time. He is able to score in any situation and comes in and does what the team needs. He is the best example for any cricketer to watch,” he said.

“It is also good that he is consistently playing at that position because then you can figure out what you need to do coming in during those situations. His numbers are unbelievable and for him to do it consistently over a period of time is amazing. In big games, no matter what the top three do, what the number 5 or 6 does will decide the match,” he concluded.