Mohammad Kaif picks KL Rahul as India's backup wicketkeeper for MS Dhoni

The Indian wicketkeeper debate has been going on since the end of the World Cup in July 2019. While MS Dhoni took an indefinite break from the game, Rishabh Pant emerged as a front-runner to replace MS Dhoni as the primary wicketkeeper-batsman of Team India in white-ball cricket. But a string of bad performances led to Rishabh Pant losing his place in all formats and being replaced. Ex-Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has now shared his opinion about the wicketkeeper situation that Team India is facing.

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Mohammad Kaif asks KL Rahul to be used as a backup, still believes in MS Dhoni

As reported by ANI, Mohammad Kaif recently commented on India's wicketkeeper dilemma, insisting that MS Dhoni should not be overlooked or judged only on the basis of his IPL 2020 form. Mohammad Kaif explained that the experience that Dhoni carries is way too valuable for him to be judged by his poor performances. Kaif believed that Dhoni can be an asset to Team India and the 38-year-old still packs a punch. Mohammad Kaif maintained that Dhoni could be vital to Team India at the upcoming T20 World Cup at Australia.

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KL Rahul's consistency versus Rishabh Pant's potential

In the beginning of 2020, Rishabh Pant ended up losing his place in the Indian white ball line-up after Virat Kohli started choosing KL Rahul as the primary wicketkeeper. Not only did KL Rahul impress with the gloves but his consistent run-scoring made him a much more valuable asset to the Indian team. Rahul's sudden emergence as India's primary wicket-keeper only fuelled the debate over who would be India's wicketkeeper in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Mohammad Kaif, however, talked about how he felt that KL Rahul should only be used a backup keeper so that he does not get overburdened with workload. Kaif still backed Dhoni to be India's primary wicket-keeper for the time to come. Rishabh Pant has struggled across formats while KL Rahul has managed to carve himself a permanent spot in the Indian white-ball setup.

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The ICC T20 World Cup 2020 is supposed to be played in Australia from October 18, 2020. However, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the schedule for the tournament may be altered. Reports are already suggesting that IPL 2020 has been shelved by the BCCI for now.

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