Fans have lashed out at Rahul Dravid after the India head coach threw his weight behind out-of-form opener KL Rahul who has failed in all three matches the Men in Blue have played in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far in Australia.

KL Rahul made scores of 4, 9, and 9 against Pakistan, the Netherlands, and South Africa, respectively. Moreover, he has been severely criticized for his lack of intent and defensive approach in the middle.

However, Rahul Dravid, the former India batting stalwart, termed him a “fantastic player” who could have a huge impact on the Rohit Sharma-led side's progression in the elite T20I competition.

“I think he is a fantastic player, he has a proven track record. I think he has been batting superbly. These things can happen in T20Is, it has not been that easy for top-order batters. This tournament has been challenging, I think he was brilliant in the practice games against the likes of Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc. He got 60 or 70. I am hoping that it all clicks together in the next few games,” Rahul Dravid said in a press conference in Adelaide on Tuesday.

“We know his quality and ability, he is very well suited for these conditions. He has got a good all-round game and he has a very good backfoot game which is required in these conditions. We are happy with the way he has been hitting it,” he added.

“We have a lot of conversations with players, it is hard to reveal exact details. Rest assured, both in words and in action, over the last year, he knows he has our support. There has been a lot of clarity on what our side is going to be in this tournament and we have not wavered from that. We play a lot of cricket, you might see different players playing in different situations,” Rahul Dravid revealed.

“There have been injuries and including him, he has had phases where he has been injured. I think it has been great with captain Rohit Sharma that he has shown faith and belief in players,” the legendary India batter elaborated.

The India head coach also stated that while there's a lot of noise about KL Rahul's poor form with the bat outside the Indian dressing room, the team management doesn't give much credence to such opinions.

“We do not focus on what is being said on the outside. We have certain ideas in mind and we have belief in players. We understand people will go through ups and downs. We understand the nature of Indian cricket. Everyone has our backing and they are here, because we know they have quality,” Rahul Dravid noted.

“In these conditions, we can afford him a little bit of time. As I said, we completely back him, we have no concerns. We know that when he gets going and I have seen that Australia a couple of weeks back against a top-quality attack, I know the impact he can make. Me and Rohit have no doubt in our minds on who will open the batting,” Rahul Dravid concluded.

However, Rahul Dravid's supportive comments in favor of KL Rahul didn't impress a section of Indian cricket admirers who took to social media to blast him for his backing to the beleaguered vice-captain of the team.

https://twitter.com/NosaneEmi/status/1587320864831197184

 

Earlier, legendary India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer urged the team management of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to drop KL Rahul to make way for Rishabh Pant in the side.

Farokh Engineer is of the view that KL Rahul is looking woefully out of form and he's not adding any value to the Men in Blue at the moment and hence doesn't deserve a place in the final XI in the upcoming matches of the T20 World Cup.

According to the former India wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant could prove to be a good choice as an opener, considering he will provide the team with a left and right combination at the top of the order with captain Rohit Sharma taking the other spot.

“India need to quickly find some solutions after their chastening defeat to South Africa on Sunday. Their first problem is opening batsman KL Rahul who is terribly out of form. The way he was out, it was like he was giving catching practice. He just glided the ball into the first slip. An opening batsman doesn't do that!” Farokh Engineer wrote in his column for the Khaleej Times.

“I have a very high opinion of KL Rahul as a very, very capable batsman. But in this World Cup, he just hasn't done anything. So are you going to replace him at this stage? Are you going to get Rishabh Pant to open the innings? I don't know. I would like to pursue with him still because he is a good batsman, you cannot become a bad batsman overnight,” Farokh Engineer added.