Don’t think KL Rahul is a long-term option, Dhoni still no. 1 keeper: Mohammad Kaif

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul is not a long-term solution for India to fill in as MS Dhoni’s replacement. The former India captain, Dhoni, has been away from cricket since the culmination of India’s World Cup campaign last year. In Dhoni’s absence, Rishabh Pant was largely viewed as the person to fill in the role of the wicketkeeper. But after showing inconsistency in form, Pant was replaced by KL Rahul in the role in the limited-overs series against New Zealand earlier this year.

Speaking on India’s wicketkeeper dilemma, Kaif said that India have not been able to find a replacement for MS Dhoni. “There has been no replacement. So many players have been tried in place of Dhoni. I don’t think KL Rahul is a long-term option. He should always be the back-up wicket-keeper, if a keeper gets injured then Rahul should keep wickets,” Kaif told Times of India.

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He further said: “So you have to groom another keeper. Even Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson haven’t been able to take the place of Dhoni.”

The former India batsman added that India have managed to fill in the void left by for cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, but have not yet succeeded in doing so in Dhoni’s case.

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“When you talk of Sachin, Dravid, you have had replacements like Kohli, Rohit, Rahane, Pujara. They have filled that void. But it hasn’t been the case with Dhoni.”

Kaif added that the selectors should not sideline Dhoni and keep him in consideration. “So I think Dhoni is still the number one wicket-keeper. He is amazingly fit and he should not be sidelined in a hurry,” he said.