Can KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer & Rishabh Pant play together? Ex-India selector shares his take

India’s tour of Bangladesh 2022 is all set to begin on December 4, with the three-match ODI series. While Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul were rested for India’s recent white-ball tour of New Zealand, the trio will return to the mix for the Bangladesh ODIs. While Rohit is likely to open the innings for India with Shikhar Dhawan, a former India selector has shared his thoughts on if KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant can bat together for the Men In Blue.

It is pertinent to mention that Shreyas is one of the top scorers for India in ODIs this year. Meanwhile, Rahul and Pant have recently faced heavy criticism for their poor run of form. While Virat Kohli is expected to bat at his regular no. 3 position, it is highly unlikely that the team management will include Rahul, Iyer, and Pant in the playing XI together.

‘Very little space for one more middle-order batter’: Former India selector

Meanwhile, during a recent media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network, which is the official broadcaster of India vs Bangladesh series, former Team India selector Syed Saba Karim revealed his thoughts on the subject. “Playing all three (Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant) seems difficult. When you have Virat Kohli coming back into the mix. He will bat at No.3. Then suppose you put Shreyas Iyer at No.4 then you are left with only two spots. India is now looking to have that sixth bowling option from their top six. If that is the case then that leaves very little space for one more middle-order batter to come in,” he said. 

“I'll look at Iyer because he has done very well in the New Zealand series as well. He should occupy the No.4 spot, then you are left with Rishabh Pant at No.5 and then you need to have one more bowling option at No.6,” Saba Karim added. Iyer is the third-highest run scorer for India in ODIs this year with 615 runs in 14 innings, which includes one century and five fifties.

Shikhar Dhawan is the highest ODI run scorer for India in 2022

While Dhawan is the highest scorer in ODIs with 670 runs in 19 games, Shubhman Gill sits second in the list with 638. In the meantime, Rishabh sits next on the list with only 336 runs in 12 games. Here’s a look at India’s ODI squad for the tour of Bangladesh.
India's squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL  Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen