Trofeo de Campeones: KL Rahul y Shreyas Iyer luchan por el único lugar en el orden medio

El último ODI de Shreyas Iyer se produjo en la gira por Sri Lanka el año pasado.

The India Champions Trophy squad announcement is set to be announced next week. However, there has been a major crisis in the squad selection. As per a PTI report, it will be Rishabh Pant who is the preferred number 1 keeper for the ICC Champions Trophy. The report also stated that moving ahead, KL Rahul won’t don the keeper’s gloves. This brings us to the tough choice of who between KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer should make the team.

What happens to KL Rahul then? Rishabh Pant becomes the first-choice keeper and Dhruv Jurel is the backup. With Pant as the main keeper in the team, it means there is room for just 1 middle-order batter. Either KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer will have to fight to get their spot in the team.

Who makes the cut for Champions Trophy?

If the report is believed to be true, then it might be the end of the road for KL Rahul in white-ball cricket as a keeper. He is no longer a part of the T20I setup anymore. And with the keeping duties being stripped off, the Karnataka player is to be used as a batter in the team.

This essentially means KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will have to fight for the number 4 spot in the team. And as things go, it is Shreyas Iyer who tops the charts. Iyer has better stats in ODIs at number 4 as that has been his preferred batting position over the years.

KL Rahul vs Shreyas Iyer ODI stats at Number 4

Player	Inns	100s	50s	Ducks	4s	6s	HS	Runs	Avg	S/R
KL Rahul	13	2	3	1	47	11	111*	558	55.8	86.78
Shreyas Iyer	33	4	8	1	130	38	128*	1397	51.74	101.75

Should KL Rahul be dropped?

It is without a shred of doubt that KL Rahul deserves his place in the ODI setup. Back in the 2023 ODI World Cup he was the man with the gloves and did an excellent job. On the other hand, he was equally good with the bat as well. Coming to bat at 5 or 6 he went on to slam 452 runs from 10 innings with 1 century and 2 fifties.

Shreyas Iyer too deserves his place. Despite bein snubbed off the BCCI Central Contract he was called for the ODI series against Sri Lanka by Gautam Gambhir. His ODI stats too speak volumes about his skillset. Back in the ODI World Cup, he amassed 530 runs from 11 innings with 2 centuries and 3 fifties to his name.

In an ideal scenario, both the players deserve to get a chance in the team. What with the squad announcement likely to take place on 19th January, we will have to wait and watch.