"He's nearly batted at all 11 positions" - Glenn McGrath's stunning statement on Team India star ahead of AUS vs IND 2025 2nd ODI

Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath expressed surprise at India constantly moving veteran wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul up and down the batting order amid the ongoing ODI series down under. Rahul top-scored for India with a 31-ball 38 in their opening game defeat against Australia in Perth.

Yet, the 33-year-old came into bat at No. 6, like he did often in the Champions Trophy earlier this year. The right-hander has batted at all the positions in the top seven in his 86-match ODI career.

Rahul has established himself as India's opener in the red-ball format, while donning the wicketkeeping gloves and batting in the middle-order in ODIs.

Talking about KL Rahul after the first ODI on the Fast Bowling Cartel YouTube channel, McGrath said (8:35):

"They've sort of moved him around. I think he's nearly batted at all 11 positions at some stage. It must be tough for him to adapt. But he's one of those versatile players. He top-scored for India in fairly tough conditions. So from opening down to I am not sure how low he has batted. Sometimes that can mess your confidence up but I think for him, maybe he's just used to it and just adapts. He keeps as well, so he's a very versatile player."

Rahul boasts an excellent ODI record with over 3,000 runs at an average of almost 49 and a strike rate of 88.48.

"They got found out a little bit" - Glenn McGrath on Kohli and Rohit

Glenn McGrath believes Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's lack of game time got exposed on a spicy Perth wicket in the opening ODI against Australia. The duo last played for India in early March before the ongoing Australian series.

While Rohit scored a 14-ball eight, Kohli was dismissed for an eight-ball duck in the Perth ODI.

"There was a lot of talk going into the match about the two greats, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They've not had a lot of cricket under their belt. And I think they got found out a little bit on a pitch that has got a Little bit more pace and a lot more bounce than what they're used to back in India," said McGrath (via the aforementioned source).

Both batters have retired from T20Is and Tests over the past year and remain active only in the ODI format. Kohli and Rohit will look to bounce back in the second ODI in Adelaide on Thursday, October 23.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran