Rahul aggregated 132 runs at a slightly below-par average of 26.40 in the five innings he played in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. The Indian vice-captain is, however, expected to open the batting with Rohit Sharma in the global T20 tournament to be played in Australia later this year.
During an interaction on the Sports 18 show ‘Sports Over the Top’, Manjrekar was asked if he sees KL Rahul playing as an opener in the World Cup based on his current form. He replied:
Manjrekar added that apart from Rahul, the team management would be slightly worried about the form of a few other players as well. The former India batter elaborated:
Rahul was out of sorts in the ODI series against Zimbabwe after returning from a long layoff. The Karnataka opener made a poor start to the Asia Cup as well but seemed to be regaining his touch as the tournament progressed.
“You can’t leave Rishabh Pant out of a T20 World Cup squad” - Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar was further asked about his views on Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in India’s squad. He responded:
Manjrekar highlighted that the dashing wicketkeeper-batter can play match-defining knocks in crunch games. The cricketer-turned-analyst said:
Pant will likely compete with Dinesh Karthik for the wicketkeeper-batter’s position in India’s XI. The youngster might just pip the veteran, considering he is the only left-hander in India’s probable top six.
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