"People Who Are Talking...": Gautam Gambhir's Fiery Response To KL Rahul's Critics

KL Rahul's disappointing run in the ongoing Test series against Australia has been grabbing headlines in the recent past and a lot of ex-cricketers have already advocated for the inclusion of the in-form Shubman Gill in place of Rahul. However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir backed Rahul to regain his form and asked both the media and ex-cricketers to ‘leave him alone'. Gambhir has worked with Rahul as part of the Lucknow Super Giants franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“People who are talking about KL Rahul don't know how tough international cricket is. I believe when a player is not performing, he needs more backing as compared to when he is playing well. Name one player who has scored runs from beginning to end. Everyone has faced that phase and you should back the talent,” Gambhir told Sports Tak.

Rahul has failed to breach the 25-run mark in the first two Test matches and that has resulted in major criticism from former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad. A number of ex-cricketers have echoed his sentiments but Gambhir cited the example of Rohit Sharma and said that every cricketer faces tough times during the stretch of their careers.

“When Rohit Sharma started his career (he struggled) and now look at his performance. There is absolute change. In the middle of the series this should not be talked about. India are 2-0 up. Each player in the dressing room knows whether he is scoring or not. No media or ex-cricketer can tell players that your performance is not good. Each player evaluates their performance. He should be left alone because we all know the quality player he is,” he added.