Gambhir against tinkering with KL Rahul's batting slot

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is not in favour of tinkering with KL Rahul's batting position as the Karnataka opener has been tried at different slots in the ongoing T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, where he has proved himself in all the departments.

"I am not sure if it is a great idea to remove KL Rahul from the top-order," Gambhir wrote in his column for the Times of India.

"If anything India could have gone with a Rahul-Agarwal combination and have Rishabh Pant keep wickets. Rahul is a valuable asset and should be well looked after. Yes, he has done some good work behind the stumps in the games that he has kept. But I am not sure he should be expected to keep in the 50-over format," the 38-year-old added.

Gambhir also spoke about youngster Prithvi Shaw, who had opened for the Men in Blue in the first ODI and expressed that the Mumbai opener should be given some space.

"The bigger picture is that India are in a commanding position. These phases in sports can prompt some audacious moves. More often than not the sporting luck favours the brave in such situations."

"Kohli has his work cut out in the absence of Rohit. He will have to present his ''A'' game if India are to challenge the hosts. Let us all go easy on young Prithvi. He is making a comeback. The word from the Mumbai maidans hasn't been encouraging but we can do well to give some space to him," Gambhir added.