NEW DELHI: Iconic West Indian cricketer Brian Lara says “great batsman” KL Rahul shouldn’t be bothered with wicketkeeping in the Indian team andhe should be allowed to concentrate on his batting.
Lara also feels that Rishabh Pant has matured in the past year and he should be considered as India’s number one wicketkeeper-batsman.
Rahul did a great job ‘keeping wickets in the limited-overs series against Australia and also during India’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. The Indian team also experimented with Rahul’s batting position and he had delivered.
“Well, first of all I would like to say that KL Rahul should not be bothered with wicketkeeping when it comes to that Indian squad,” Lara said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“He’s such a great batsman that I feel that he should concentrate on that and put in a lot of runs on the board,” he added. In the ongoing Indian Premier League, Rahul has amassed 302 runs so far with the help of a century and two fifties in five games.
Pant, who was once seen as heir apparent to Dhoni, has faced flak for his ‘keeping skills right from the beginning of his career.
However, Lara feels the youngster, who has scored 171 runs in the ongoing IPL as of now, has matured in the past year and is taking more responsibility while playing for the Delhi Capitals this season.
“Rishabh Pant a year ago, I would say no, but I feel that he has stepped up in terms of his responsibility as a batsman,” Lara said.
“Look at how he plays for Delhi Capitals. It looks like he wants that responsibility, he wants that onus on him to score runs, build an innings and get big scores. If he continues that way, I think that he should be the No. 1,” he added.
—PTI

Press Trust of India