Gautam Gambhir explains why he chose KL Rahul over Rishabh Pant for India’s Champions Trophy playing XI: “His batting average in ODIs is 50.”

Even though Kohli stole the show throughout the match, KL Rahul played a crucial role in helping the Men in Blue reach the finish line without incident. Rahul contributed to India’s run-chase with a brief but significant cameo of 42*. The final runs were also hit by the Karnataka hitter, who smashed Glenn Maxwell for a massive maximum over the long on zone.

India advanced to the Champions Trophy 2025 final, which will take place on March 9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, after defeating Australia by an astounding four wickets in the first semi-final. With his 84-run knock on Tuesday, star batsman Virat Kohli was the mastermind behind India’s convincing victory.

Rahul’s innings, meanwhile, left India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir utterly pleased. The selection of the part-time wicketkeeper over Rishabh Pant drew frequent criticism from the Indian dugout and selectors prior to the match.

Gambhir was questioned about his thoughts on the criticism and the rationale for his decision to overlook Rishabh Pant, who has yet to play in the tournament and has just one match left. Rahul’s superior batting statistics in One-Day Internationals over Pant, which guarantee him a valuable berth in the Playing XI, supported the coach’s response.

“Rahul has an ODI cricket average of 50 (sic 48.53).” That’s the response,” Gambhir said at the press conference held in Dubai following the game.

The impact is what counts in team sports like cricket, where batting positions and numbers are irrelevant. Your primary concern should be keeping yourself safe while playing, and you should be content to do whatever is required of you to support the team and KL. Rahul has accomplished this, and KL has done it with great joy and success at number six as well. When asked again about Rahul’s position, Gambhir said, “I don’t know how long they have been talking about it, but that’s why we pushed KL at number six.”

Simply put, we feel that he gives us greater depth, and that’s how we want to play the game. The conversations I’ve had with him and with everyone else are same. We won’t discuss batting positions in a team sport, particularly cricket and this format. The Delhi native continued, “We will continue to discuss how we can make that impact and what the team needs.”

Rahul reaches the milestone for ODI

In addition to helping India win, Rahul’s undefeated 42 was outstanding from a personal standpoint. He broke the 3000-run mark in the ODI format during his innings, which was adorned with a few boundaries and as many sixers. In his nine years in the format, the 32-year-old has needed 78 innings to reach the milestone.

Having batted at various places during his career, the Bengaluru-born player has amassed seven hundreds and sixteen fifties, demonstrating his versatility and ability to adapt to a variety of settings and circumstances. In the forthcoming finale on Sunday, he will now try to maintain the same influence.