New Delhi: Amid all the criticism around his form, KL Rahul is getting statements and verdicts from the cricket fraternity as well. This time, former BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly opened up about Rahul’s lean patch and said that a batter faces criticism for not being able to perform in home conditions. The former Indian captain also went on to back the opener.

Talking to PTI, Ganguly said that when a batter does not score runs in India, the criticism is obvious. He added that KL Rahul has not been the only one and there have been players in the past who have been in this situation.

The veteran batter said that with so much focus, there is a lot of pressure on players. Talking about his selection, Ganguly said that the team management thinks Rahul is an important player and what the coach and captain thinks is important.

Backing Rahul, he said he has performed but one expects a lot more from a top-order batter playing for India because of the high standards. He added that Rahul has the ability and he will have to find ways to score.

There has been a lot of buzz for Shubman Gill to replace Rahul after his recent performances, including a double ton in ODIs. On Gill, Sourav Ganguly said that when his time will come, he will also get a lot of opportunities. The team management ‘thinks highly’ of Rahul and that is why he is playing in ODIs and T20Is also.

Rahul has scored only 38 runs in four innings in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the highest score being 17. Though he has shown some good ODI innings with 64* in a winning cause against Sri Lanka and 73 against Bangladesh, his recent chain of scores does not have much to defend him. However, one big inning in next two Tests can change the course of the narrative.