KL Rahul is unaware of the exact reason why Rishabh Pant was dropped from the Indian ODI team in Bangladesh. However, he is prepared to play the wicketkeeper's position if necessary in white-ball cricket, like he did in the first ODI on Sunday.
In his press conference following India's one-wicket loss in Mirpur, Rahul said, "We haven't played many ODIs in the recent 6-7 months, but if you look at, since 2020 or 2021, I have kept wickets in the one-day format and I have batted at No. 4 and No. 5 in the middle order." The team has asked me to be prepared for it.
Rahul had no new information to contribute to the BCCI release that confirmed Pant's departure from the ODI squad; it just stated that he had been released "in consultation with the BCCI medical staff."
"To be honest, I don't know a lot about Rishabh. I only learned this morning in the dressing room that he had been freed; I'm not sure why, but I suppose the medical staff will be better able to explain. But in white-ball cricket, the team has always asked me to be prepared for this job, and I've filled it previously. Now, anytime the team asks me to fill this function, I do so.
In an India total of 186, Rahul led the way with 73 off 70 balls and displayed a level of fluency unmatched by any of his team members on a challenging surface with uneven bounce and natural variation in turn. He was happy with the results of his attempts to adjust to the surroundings in Mirpur, but he wished he had been able to go longer and push India's tally above 230. In actuality, India was bowled out in the 42nd over after he was ninth out in the 40th.
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