With the ODI series already secured after winning the first two matches against Afghanistan, India have used the opportunity to test different squads and evaluate players outside their regular squad.The absence of Virat Kohli’s seniors, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah has allowed the team management to experiment, especially in batting. All of them Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill was given a chance at No. 3, a position usually held by Kohli, and the pair responded with promising performances.However, one wise idea has continued to cause controversy. KL Rahul, despite being one of India’s best batsmen, has also been sent down the order. While Rahul scored an unbeaten 39 off 19 balls in the first ODI chase, he was dismissed without scoring in the second match in Lucknow.Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes that Rahul’s skills are underutilized at No.6 and feels that the wicketkeeper batsman should be given a bigger role.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said, “It’s not good for KL Rahul and the team if he’s hitting sixes. In my opinion, he should bat at a max of four or five. I think he can go with a rotation plan. Rest the sureties in other games, give chances, and then choose a side.”The former opener also supported the strategy of change in the remaining matches, saying that India should use this series to test the depth of the team and determine their strong combination ahead of future tournaments.Srikkanth also expressed concern over the scheduling of the Afghanistan games, questioning whether the players were given enough time to recover after playing so much cricket. With the IPL and the Men’s T20 World Cup over recently, and the Women’s T20 World Cup currently underway, he felt that the timing of the ODI was not good.“Afghanistan is not really a big team. It’s sad. Now they are playing in Chennai where it will be very hot. I don’t know how they will play there. It’s not good. I don’t think they should play in June. T20 World Cup and IPL are just over. Give them a break and Women’s T20 World Cup is happening, why don’t we have IPL in a month. No family time, holidays, and above all, no time to rest,” he said.India will now enter the final ODI with the series already in the bag, while talks about Rahul’s batting and batting numbers continue to be the big news.
