Former England captain Kevin Pietersen conveyed a message to India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, advocating for wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul to be positioned at No. 5 in the playing XI for the Champions Trophy. This statement was made in light of Gambhir's indication that he would maintain a preference for a left-right batting combination in the middle order, leaving uncertainty regarding Rahul's batting position.

The Indian team management faced criticism during the initial matches of the recently concluded home ODI series against England, particularly when Axar Patel was promoted to bat at No. 5 ahead of Rahul. Although the all-rounder benefited from this elevation, Rahul struggled at No. 6, managing only 12 runs across two innings.

Nevertheless, upon returning to his preferred position in the final match in Ahmedabad, Rahul delivered a significant performance, scoring 40 runs off 29 balls in India’s 142-run victory. Following the match, Pietersen, while speaking to the broadcasters, urged Gambhir to retain Rahul at the No. 5 spot.

“One positive they can take is that Virat Kohli scored runs today. Rohit has also contributed, along with Gill and Shreyas... it’s a strong start, I assure you. I want KL Rahul at 5 because I want him to face a substantial number of balls. He came in today with 17 overs remaining. When you enter the game with more time, you can establish your innings. I don’t believe KL Rahul is the type of player who can come in with just three overs left and score 30 runs off 12 balls. Rahul is the kind of player who needs time to settle in one-day cricket. The best opportunity to provide him that time is to bat him at 5,” he stated to Star Sports.

Kevin Pietersen picks India XI for Champions Trophy

The former England cricketer subsequently disclosed his preferred playing XI for India in their Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh, scheduled to take place in Dubai on February 20.

Upon announcing the batting order, he opted to exclude Harshit Rana from the pace attack, instead endorsing Arshdeep Singh as the second fast bowler and selecting Kuldeep Yadav as the only specialist spinner, favoring him over Varun Chakravarthy.

"Chakravarthy has performed admirably, but I believe Kuldeep has delivered exceptional results and impressive statistics. I have a preference for the left-arm seamer, which is why I choose Arshdeep to start. This gives us three seamers: Shami, Arshdeep, and Hardik. Additionally, Jadeja is always my top choice. Therefore, alongside Jadeja, we have Kuldeep and Axar," he stated.

Kevin Pietersen's selected XI for the Champions Trophy includes: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav.

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