Team India fans were left baffled after KL Rahul was named in the playing XI to play the first ODI against Sri Lanka at the expense of Ishan Kishan.

Shocked by the Indian team management's decision, Ishan Kishan's admirers roasted KL Rahul for being a part of the side.

While some labeled him an “idiot”, others called KL Rahul a “fraud”.

On the other hand, some alleged that KL Rahul must know some top secrets of the BCCI to be a part of the national team despite a string of performances in the past couple of months.

There was another section of Men in Blue supporters who were furious with India head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma and urged the duo to take impartial decisions in the interest of the team.

https://twitter.com/DuckInCricket/status/1612428739929079808

 

Interestingly, Ishan Kishan slammed a double century in his last ODI game against Bangladesh last month.

In December, the India opener made history against Bangladesh as he smashed the quickest double century in One-Day Internationals.

By cracking a double hundred in only 126 deliveries, he went past West Indies great Chris Gayle who completed his 200 in 138 balls against Zimbabwe in 2015.

With his special feat against Bangladesh, Ishan Kishan became just the fourth Indian and the seventh batter overall to register a score of 200 in ODIs.

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Before him, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, the explosive Virender Sehwag, and current skipper Rohit Sharma have accomplished the milestone.

In the process, the left-hander also went past Rohit Sharma to become the youngest double-centurion in ODIs. While Ishan Kishan made his maiden double hundred at the age of 24 years and 145 days, Rohit Sharma did it when he was 26 years and 186 days old against the mighty Australians in Bengaluru in 2013.

Hours before the match in Assam, former India coach Venkatesh Prasad urged Rohit Sharma to include Ishan Kishan in the XI and drop KL Rahul instead because the former would have kept wickets in place of the latter.

Venkatesh Prasad even explained that Ishan Kishan could prove to be an X-factor that Team India has been looking for a while in white-ball cricket and hence should get more time in the middle, even if that meant leaving out KL Rahul from the XI.

“Think fair would have been to give chance to a man who scored a double hundred in India’s last ODI, and in a series where India lost two games and the series. Have all the time in the world for Gill, but no way you drop a player for scoring a double ton. And if one is convinced to play Gill, then can have him bat at 3 and let Ishan keep wickets instead of KL Rahul,” Venkatesh Prasad tweeted.

“There is a reason we have underperformed in Limited overs cricket. Constant chopping changing and a guy who does brilliantly and is an X factor is dropped and mediocrity retained.”

“In Eng, Pant scored a hundred in the final ODI and helped India win the series. However, based on T20 form was dropped from ODI team. KL Rahul on the other hand barring a couple of innings has failed consistently but retains his place. Performance is not the foremost parameter. Sad,” Venkatesh Prasad added.

However, many saw the decision coming as Rohit Sharma had hinted that Ishan Kishan may not find a place in the XI on the eve of the contest.

“Both openers have done really well. But looking at how both openers have gone through, it's fair that we give Gill a chance to have a good run,” Rohit Sharma said in his pre-match press conference.

“Gill has got a lot of runs in the last few games, so has Ishan. I am not going to take anything away from him (Ishan). He's been wonderful for us, got a double hundred. And, I know what it takes to get a double hundred, it is a great achievement,” Rohit Sharma added.

“But just to be honest and fair to the guys who have done really well before, we need to give those guys enough chances as well before we make that call. It's unfortunate that we won't be able to play Ishan. But looking at how things have panned out for us in the last eight-nine months and how the ODIs have gone through for us, it's fair to give Gill that run and he's done extremely well in that position,” The Nagpur-born cricketer elaborated.

“Yes, Ishan is certainly going to miss out but it is very unfortunate. But that does not rule out anything. We are going to try and keep everyone in the mix and see how it pans out for us as we play a lot of games ahead,” the India captain signed off.