Gautam Gambhir Backs Under-fire KL Rahul, Says 'Social Media Criticism Doesn't Matter One Bit'

Gautam Gambhir has backed KL Rahul to find form heading into the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that the Rahul is being backed by the team management.

Source : PTI

Gautam Gambhir, Team India head coach, has backed underfire KL Rahul. Notably, Rahul returned with two low scores in the India vs New Zealand 1st Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and with Shubman Gill set to return from an injury and Sarfaraz Khan having smashed a 100 in the series opener, the team management might have to bench Rahul.

However, Gambhir has backed the right-handed batter. Responding to a question posed by a reporter Gambhir said that what the team manegement things is important and the chatter on social media does not bother them.

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"First of all, social media does not matter one bit. You do not pick players because of the social media or what the experts think. What the team management thinks, what the leadership group thinks, is very very important. Ultimately, everyone is judged, international cricket is about being judged. Everyone's performance will be judged eventually," Gambhir said at a pre-match press conference.

"But I feel he (Rahul) is batting really well, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur, obviously on a difficult wicket and he played according to the plans. I am sure he would be knowing that he wants to score big runs, he has that capability of scoring these big runs that is why he is being backed by the team management," Gambhir added.

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Gambhir's comment comes after Rahul was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the first Test while scoring 12 in the second innings.

Ryan ten Doeschate On KL Rahul

Earlier, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had also said that there are not too many concerns about Rahul. However, he did not sugercoat and said that there is definitely a fight for a spot between Sarfaraz and Rahul.

"He's batting nicely, he's in a good mental space, but yeah, we're certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what's going to be best for the team," Doeschate added.