'Why Can't He Be Dropped': Kapil Dev Makes Bold Verdict On India Star Ahead Of IND AUS Series

Former India legend Kapil Dev feels that KL Rahul can be dropped if he does not help the team combination.

Former India skipper Kapil Dev

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There has been a lot of debate going on as to who will open with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, or Shubman Gill in the first Test against Australia starting February 9. Former India legend Kapil Dev feels that KL Rahul can be dropped if he does not help the team combination.

"Why can't he be dropped? There should not be any rule like that. You need to look at team combination, who the team needs in order to win. There is no necessity. In Indian cricket, I don't think there is a constant system like a vice-captain. Back in the day, we had a new vice-captain in every Test match. He is a very matured player; I even like him," Kapil said on Uncut.

"I consider him to be a fine batter but if he doesn't fit in the team, then let it be. The team comes first and I guess for that the captain and the management needs to take a call. Some players are lucky. Rahul Dravid too played many such matches where he was made to keep wicket."

The former India skipper also praised Shubman Gill who has been making headlines with his extraordinary batting for quite some time now.

“When we played cricket, we used to say a man in form is important. In today's time, no one is playing better than him. Everyone is playing well but he is a bit better. There is a huge difference between him now and him around one year back. He is getting mature with time and if he does not play now, he may lose out the chance to become a superstar and just remain a star,” he explained.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (injured and yet to recover), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav. (Ravindra Jadeja's inclusion in the squad is subject to fitness report).

Australia: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green (injured), Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc (injured), Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.