NEWS
Follow UsRavichandran Ashwin heaped praises on KL Rahul for his match-winning knock in the first ODI that helped India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Australia in Mumbai.
The right-handed batter walked in with the Men in Blue tottering at 16 for three in pursuit of 189 runs and scored an unbeaten 75 off 91 deliveries to power India over the line in a tense run chase.
"KL Rahul is doing a very difficult role for India with ease. KL Rahul in ODIs: He has been proper box-office and has got phenomenal numbers batting at number five," Ashwin said on his youtube channel.
"Immediately after his knock, people are like, KL Rahul is back. KL Rahul didn't even go anywhere when it comes to ODI cricket to be back. He didn't even go anywhere for us to put him down one day and suddenly celebrate him the other day," he further added.
The 36-year-old also stated the examples of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Michael Bevan and their impact in ODI cricket down the order and said, "Consider everyone who is batting at number five in ODI cricket currently, and there isn't even one cricketer at the moment who has made a mark for himself. Because number five is a very tough position to bat."
"Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were the only two guys who batted mostly at five in ODIs and made a mark for themselves. For Australia, it was Michael Bevan, and it is not at all easy to bat at that number in ODIs," he further added.
The off-spinner also emphasised the need for people to back the players going through a rough phase and appreciate the value they bring to the team.
"If the people we like do something good and get trending on Twitter, we will start celebrating and worshipping them like anything. But if they are going through a bad patch, we will not appreciate or celebrate their value or the magnitude of what they are doing," he concluded.
