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 KL Rahul or Shubman Gill? England Great Picks his Favourite for WTC Final 

image-lgxfclabVaughan has picked KL Rahul over Gill [Twitter]

With India naming their squad for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia in June, the chatter has shifted towards the marquee match from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). India included former skipper Ajinkya Rahane in the side, who returned thanks to an injured Shreyas Iyer. 

Led by Rohit Sharma, India will be challenging their claim over the Test mace in their second consecutive appearance in a WTC Final, having lost to eventual inaugural winners New Zealand in 2021. 

Former England Michael Vaughan has reignited an age-old debate about who shall be India's opening partner alongside skipper Sharma; KL Rahul or Shubman Gill.

Shubman Gill has been in rich form and has been a constant partner to Sharma since 2022, while Rahul's technique in swinging conditions has been tried and tested.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, the former Ashes-winning captain stated that India should include Rahul over Gill and pick their best XI for the match and not past or future performances.  

Here's what Vaughan said

"The only change that they could make in English conditions, is that KL Rahul plays the moving ball better than Shubman Gill. Shubman's a tremendous young player, but you've got to win that one game of cricket. Forget history, it's about picking the best XI to win the World Test Championship.

I'm not sure they will do that (replacing Shubman with KL Rahul) because I'm not in the selection room. (But) don't pick a team on what's next, or who's going to play in the West Indies… you've got to pick (the team for) that one game of cricket,"

Adding weightage to Vaughan's words are Rahul's numbers in England, in 9 Tests, the Karnataka-born has scored 614 runs with two centuries and one fifty. 

The 29-year-old has scored 2,551 runs batting as an opener, while only 91 have come batting down the order in Tests. 

It will be interesting who Rahul Dravid and Co. opts to play in the XI on June 7, when India and Australia lock horns at the Oval; Rahul's experience or Gill's exuberance.