Former India batter Mohammad Kaif said that he is not worried about KL Rahul’s poor outing in the second ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, Harare. Chasing the 162-run target, Rahul decided to promote himself up in the order to get some game time, however, it was not an ideal outing for him with the bat, and was dismissed on just 1.
Earlier, he didn’t get a chance to bat in the first ODI as openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill remained unbeaten to help India beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.
2nd ODI: Samson, Thakur Shine as India Beat Zimbabwe
Kaif hailed Rahul, calling him a class batter as the former batter said he is not worried about the Indian captain’s form.
“Such things happen, he is coming back after a long time. I am not worried about his form, he is a class batter. He got out today, it does not make a difference. It was a pitched-up delivery that came in after pitching and you can get dismissed against the new ball anytime," Kaif told Sony Sports.
Kaif also pointed out that Rahul had the batting pads in his hands after the match which indicated that he was going to the nets for training right after it.
“He is a fantastic batter. He was going for knocking when the match got over. He had the pads in his hands and was going straight to the nets. He is trying to be in touch, get the rhythm back," he added.
Rahul is returning from injury after almost two and a half months and the ongoing tour is expected to give him enough match practice ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup.
Kaif further said that Rahul was in decent form before getting injured as he scored a couple of centuries in IPL 2022 and was consistently scoring well for India across formats.
“When he got injured during the IPL, there also he was in form. He scored runs in every match, scored two centuries also in the IPL against the Mumbai Indians, so he was in great form. He is a class batter, he is scoring hundreds in Test matches. He has scored runs in every format."
The former cricketer suggested that almost every batter goes through such a phase after returning from an injury.
“There is one more match. So he should spend some time when he comes to bat there, struggle a little, there will be appeals, he might get beaten by an odd delivery. Every batter has such a phase in his life when he is coming back from injury. But I will not be too concerned by him getting out in today’s match," he added.
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