KL Rahul’s selfless act to help Shubman Gill make a century doesn’t sit well with Sunil Gavaskar

Cricket is a team game, but sometimes the desire to help a teammate can backfire. That’s exactly what happened in the first ODI between India and England in Nagpur when KL Rahul’s short stay at the crease sparked criticism from Sunil Gavaskar. The former Indian legend called out KL Rahul for not playing according to the situation and instead trying to help Shubman Gill reach his hundred.

What exactly happened with KL Rahul & Shubman Gill?

With India cruising at 221/4, chasing 248, the only question was whether Shubman Gill would get his century. Rahul, coming in at No. 6, seemed intent on giving Gill as much strike as possible. However, in doing so, he abandoned his natural game, scoring just 2 off 9 balls before chipping a simple return catch to Adil Rashid.

Sunil Gavaskar, watching from the commentary box, was far from pleased. “This is a team game, you don’t have to do that,” he fumed. “He should play his natural game, not prod around just to help his partner get a hundred.”

Rahul’s dismissal put pressure on Gill, who, trying to reach his century, also perished for 87. It was a gutting moment for Gill, who played so brilliantly up until that point. His partnerships with Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel were massive for taking India home. That’s a different matter that Iyer wasn’t supposed to play the game before an injury ruled Virat Kohli out of action. While India ultimately won the game thanks to Hardik Pandya’s quickfire finish, the discussion around Rahul’s approach didn’t fade away as for Gavaskar.