“I won’t lie”: KL Rahul admits to “Rishabh Pant pressure” ahead of New Zealand clash

Earlier on Friday, there were reports that Rishabh Pant could replace Rohit Sharma for India’s final group match against New Zealand on March 2.. and now KL Rahul has only testified, that the team management could look to give a chance to the benched players. Having made it to the semis of the Champions Trophy already, India has the cushion of trying out some other players, before the tournament moves into the business end.

On being asked the same during the press conference, India wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul clarified, that is one option that the team might explore. He said, “I’m not in the leadership group, but there could be a temptation to look at some other players.”

KL Rahul was at his very candid best, when he also opened up a potential threat to his position, from Rishabh Pant. For the record, for the entire duration of the IND vs ENG series and now the CT 2025, Pant has only managed to warm the bench, while Rahul has been the preferred choice behind the wickets.

India Keeper Opens up on Pressure

“It is pressure when someone of Rishabh’s talent is there. I won’t lie. But I have been given a responsibility and I try to perform that. I don’t try to play like him,” he said. He further defined his role in the team as well, which is that of a finisher. “At No. 6 or 7, I know I have to play with a very high strike rate. I focus on that in practice.”

India squad Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.