Things are not going great for KL Rahul presently. Firstly, he was axed from the squad for the upcoming Test series against South Africa. And then, he was benched in the second T20I as the team management trusted Shreyas Iyer for the job.


The scenario is no less than a wake-up call for the opener and former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly feels. He stated that Rahul will be kept on his toes by Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey for the no. 4 slot.

“With Rohit and Shikhar at the top as the best possible opening pair, KL Rahul will be pushed. He has lost his place in Test cricket due to indifferent form and the likes of Shreyas and Manish Pandey will keep him on his toes if he wants to hold onto the No. 4 slot,” Ganguly wrote in his column for The Times of India.

“Shreyas Iyer finds a place in the T20 squad, a reward for his good show in the 50-overs games in West Indies,” he added.

Iyer remained unbeaten on 16 in a 150-run chase against South Africa in the 2nd T20I which India won comfortably by seven wickets in Mohali on Wednesday.

The former India skipper also spoke about the visiting Proteas team and said that they are in a rebuilding phase. “They need to look at the system back home. Not very long ago, they boasted of having enormous talent, but like many teams, they have dropped a few levels down,” Ganguly said.

India and South Africa will lock horns in the final T20I on Sunday in Bengaluru before locking horns in the Test series beginning October 2.