India’s wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul played a vital knock in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final match against Australia at Dubai. His knock was a brief one but received plenty of praise for the kind of composure it had.
After the match, former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu hailed KL Rahul for a fantastic performance with the bat. Sidhu was impressed by Rahul’s versatility as a cricketer and his selfless attitude for the team.
Rahul has batted at various positions in the batting order ever since his debut. However, the right-hander successfully has adapted to any role given to him by the team management. His versatility makes him a unique multi-dimensional cricketer as he possesses the ability to perform various roles.
Watch: Anushka Sharma literally dozes off while watching Virat Kohli bat in CT 2025 semi-final
Navjot Singh Sidhu hails KL Rahul’s selflessness
After the semi-final match between India and Australia in Dubai, Navjot Singh Sidhu lauded KL Rahul for his versatility. Sidhu claimed that Rahul has performed every possible role that has been given to him by the team management saying ‘No’ to anything.
“KL Rahul! Not even a spare tyre has been used that much. You make him the wicketkeeper, you play him at No. 6, you make him open the batting sometimes. When BGT comes, you send him at No. 3,” Sidhu noted.
“Then, you send him to open the batting. Let me tell you one thing. Opening the batting in ODIs is the easiest, but opening in Test cricket is the toughest possible job on earth,” the former India opener added.
Sidhu also mentioned that the team management always looks up to Rahul whenever there is a tough role. He cited the role of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later last year when Rahul was moved up the order in Tests and the batter was selfless enough to understand his role.
“Whenever there is a difficult situation, you put him there. He always says ‘Yes’ and never says ‘No’ to anything. This is selflessness. This is the passion. Top-notch people are those who make selfless sacrifices for the country. KL Rahul is that sort of a guy,” said Sidhu.
Navjot Singh Sidhu talking about KL Rahul and selfless approach for India. 🫡
– Sidhu said “KL Rahul is the Most Selfless Cricketer”. pic.twitter.com/YSosyOKXJJ
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) March 5, 2025
KL Rahul’s different roles in Team India
Rahul has played many roles in his cricket career so far. He came into the team as an opener but soon realized that there was no spot in India’s white-ball team at the top order due to the presence of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli.
He moved to the middle order and produced exceptional performances despite batting at an unusual position. When India needed a wicketkeeper in the absence of Rishabh Pant (ruled out due to a car accident), he came forward to take the role.
Rahul was also India’s designated wicketkeeper in the ODI World Cup 2023 and batted as a middle-order batter. He went on to have an excellent tournament and was one of India’s top performers.
KL Rahul in CT 2025 semi-final
In the ongoing Champions Trophy, Rahul was preferred as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper despite Rishabh Pant in the squad. There were calls to give Pant a chance since Rahul is not a natural keeper.
But the team management decided to back the right-hander and he repaid the faith with a fine knock against Australia in a crunch game like sthe emi-final. Rahul smashed an unbeaten 42 off just 34 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He also struck the winning six to seal the game for India.