"Car With Gears In An Era Of Automatic": Irfan Pathan's Unique Praise For Star India Batter
Duly impressed with the India star's batting, Irfan Pathan said that he could bat anywhere in the middle-order.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan is of the opinion that Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) could try opener KL Rahul in the middle-order. Rahul opens the batting for LSG at the marquee event ever since joining the side in 2022. In his first IPL season for the side, Rahul scored 616 runs across 15 match at an average of over 51. The following edition saw Rahul missing noticeable number of games due to injury. He played 9 matches for LSG in IPL 2023 and scored 274 runs. Heaping praises on Rahul, Pathan said that he is a player who can bat in any position.
"He is a car with gears in an era of automatic cars. He can bat in any gear from first to fifth. He even has a sixth gear. So considering that, KL Rahul batting down the order might not be bad at all," Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports as quoted by Sportskeeda.
"It could be good for the team and him as well. The team combination could include both Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers in such a scenario. If both of them get a place, they can go with an all-Indian pace attack," Pathan added.
Rahul is currently struggling with injury. He had complained of a right quadriceps pain and missed India's second Test in Visakhapatnam due to it. While the batter has been included in the team's remaining three matches against the Three Lions, his participation is subject to fitness.
"The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team," said BCCI in the release in which it named India's squad for remaining three Test matches vs England.
The series is perfectly poised at 1-1 with the third Test starting in Rajkot on February 15.
India Cricket Team
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul
Irfan Pathan