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'There's No Clarity..', Ex-opener Questions KL Rahul’s Omission From Afghanistan T20Is

image-lr4qhpyhKL Rahul has been excluded from IND's squad for AFG T20Is [X.com]

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has raised concerns about the exclusion of India's in-form keeper-batter KL Rahul from the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against Afghanistan. 

On Sunday evening, the BCCI announced India's squad for the forthcoming Afghanistan T20I series. While the return of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is a significant highlight, Aakash questioned the absence of KL Rahul. He suggested that it hints at him falling out of favour for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA.

Expressing his views on his YouTube channel, Aakash emphasised the lack of clarity regarding why KL Rahul was left out of the squad.

"Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul were India’s top 3 in the T20 World Cup 2022. Of these, KL Rahul has not been included. Or he has been dropped. There is no clarity on what has happened. But he’s not there. There can be a discussion on that too. Rahul’s numbers in T20 cricket, his strike rate is over 135, which is not bad. Even if the opener’s role is unavailable, you can play him in the middle like how it is for ODIs. You did it for Tests too,"  said Aakash Chopra while speaking on his YouTube channel.

Chopra pointed out that the Karnataka-based batter could have fulfilled the wicketkeeper-batsman's role in the middle order, as he has been doing in ODIs and even in Tests lately.

"His strike rate in T20Is is more than 135, so that is not bad. There are no vacant opening positions in any case, and you play him in the middle in ODIs as well, so you could have done that here too. You play him down the order even in Tests now. However, you said you need to make some change at least,"  Aakash added.

Rahul boasts an impressive record in T20Is, amassing 2265 runs in 68 innings at an excellent average of 37.75 and a remarkable strike rate of 139.12. 

With the T20 World Cup less than six months away, the Afghanistan series marks the final T20I assignment for the Indian team before entering a phase dominated by Test cricket and the IPL. It is safe to say that time is running for KL Rahul- The T20I batter.