The case for trusting KL Rahul at No. 5

Competitive pragmatism—a realistic, result-oriented approach—is something Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill could adopt regarding the Indian ODI team, particularly with KL Rahul's batting position.

Rahul rarely bats at his preferred No. 5 lately, with team management often prioritizing left-right combinations and extended batting depth over quality.

In reality, Rahul complements the top order when it fires and rallies the lower order during collapses, as seen against New Zealand in Rajkot.

Batting at No. 5, Rahul hammered an unbeaten 112* in difficult conditions. While India didn't win, the total of 284/7 would have been much lower without his effort.

The Rajkot pitch had more life than expected, leading to failures from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. After Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer fell, Rahul batted with discipline, holding the innings together as wickets fell.

It was a quality century—his eighth in 93 ODIs—timed perfectly, with acceleration at the right moment. India's bowlers couldn't defend the total, a concern for management.

Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said, "We probably want to bowl a bit better. It's never just one reason for losing. We do like the extra spinner," conceding India missed an extra spinner.

Recently, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have been preferred at No. 5, though results are debatable. During last year's Champions Trophy, Rahul batted at No. 6, and India won all matches—a successful experiment.

But those were low-scoring contests. In an era targeting 350-plus scores, a specialist at No. 5 adds more heft than an all-rounder. When Rahul bats at No. 5, he often delivers: his match-winning 97 against Australia in the 2023 World Cup and 66 in the final—both top scores for India—came at that position.

Competitive pragmatism suggests Gambhir and Gill should opt for a specialist at No. 5 over experiments. Rahul times chases well, adopting a low-risk approach.

Ten Doeschate added, "He's definitely good enough at five. It gives breathing space tactically. We don't doubt his ability. With KL in form, he can be a regular number five, and we play all-rounders."

He praised Rahul's century: "That's a quality hundred. Keeping in ODIs isn't that taxing. We're not protecting him. Our strategy has been to prolong the batting order, using all-rounders high up or at five, but that's an avenue to explore."

Beyond batting order issues, Rahul has faced significant trolling and criticism, even from experts like Venkatesh Prasad, who once said his Test performances were "well below par." Rahul has survived this and emerged stronger.

He has stabilized India's ODI batting, averaging 52.42 since 2025, with 367 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate over 107. Recent scores include: 2, 10, 40, 41*, DNB, 23, 42*, 34*, 38, 11, DNB, 60, 66*, DNB, 29*, and 112*.

New Zealand centurion and Player of the Match Daryl Mitchell said, "I thought he played really well, balanced the innings, soaked up pressure, and got a score for them."