Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh criticized the Indian team management for underutilizing KL Rahul, who is known as one of the most versatile batsmen of the India national cricket team across all formats.
The keeper-batsman, who joined the Indian cricket team on the back of a strong IPL 2026 campaign with Delhi Capitals, was, for some unknown reason, pushed to the lower half of the batting order during the ODI series against England.
Dodda Ganesh compares KL Rahul to a dusty Ferrari in the garage
A picture of a dust-covered Ferrari sports car is being shared to compare it to Rahul’s current position in the Indian cricket team. The right-handed batsman was barely able to make any significant contributions in India’s ODI matches against England, where the Men in Blue suffered a 2-1 defeat.
Gautam Gambhir-coached Team India, which is now famous for shuffling the batting order and playing combinations, instead of asking Rahul to bat as a normal middle-order batsman, pushed him back in the batting order.
Dodda said that, due to wrong tactical moves, the team has wasted a brilliant talent with very strong batting statistics as a No. 5 batsman in the One Day International format.
“KL Rahul, after owning No. 5 with unrealistic numbers, being pushed to No. 6 is what it looks like. A complete waste of a real batsman,” Dodda Ganesh wrote in his recent social media post.
KL Rahul, after occupying the No. 5 spot with unrealistic numbers, feels like being pushed to No. 6. Complete waste of a real batsman #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/9mIYGXXrMN
— Dodda Ganesh दोद्दा गानेश् (@doddaganesha) July 20, 2026
Last night in Cardiff, when Rohit Sharma, captain Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli set the stage for India to chase a mammoth target of 388 runs in 50 overs, the Indian team management sent Rahul to bat at No. 6.
While Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were sent into the middle as number four and number five batsmen respectively, Rahul was placed at number six. In the run chase, he was out after scoring only 12 runs in 8 balls.
KL Rahul at number 5 has an average of more than 60
On a pitch where Ben Duckett and Rohit Sharma scored a century each, and Jacob Bethel, Joe Root, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli scored fifty-plus innings, KL Rahul could have done better, getting out for only 12 runs.
India lost the match at Lord’s and eventually lost the three-match series. According to the opinion of the former cricketer, the Indian team management made a mistake by not considering Rahul as the number 5 batsman.
From the No. 5 position in ODIs, the veteran batsman has scored 1,517 runs in 35 matches at an average of 63.2, including ten 50s and three 100s, while as a No. 6 batsman his batting average is only 34.5 in 15 matches.
Dodda Ganesh does not want to hold KL Rahul responsible for the defeat at Lord’s.
As India lost the match due to Rahul’s poor outing, some cricket fans on social media platforms blamed him for the result, which went in favor of the home team. Dodda Ganesh highlighted that people might have blamed KL Rahul for the defeat, but the statistics he had as a proven No. 5 batsman spoke to the truth.
The former cricketer mentioned in a separate ‘X’ post, “Accounts like this are the reason why KL Rahul faces so much hate and bullying online despite his unreal numbers and versatility in ODIs. When KL came to bat at number six the game was practically over, but who is to blame? It’s KL again. At this rate, KL can also be blamed for Indian diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.”
The reason why KL Rahul faces so much hatred and bullying online, despite his unreal numbers and versatility in ODIs, is because of such accounts.
The game was practically over when KL came to bat at number six; But who gets the blame? It’s KL again. At this rate KL can also be blamed… https://t.co/LfUWRPVRFd
— Dodda Ganesh दोद्दा गानेश् (@doddaganesha) July 20, 2026
