Rishabh Pant is fit but his comeback in Indian team could be delayed; here's why

Virat Kohli said that India will continue with KL Rahul as their wicketkeeper-batsman "for a while" after their 2-1 series win over Australia on Sunday.

"I think lack of clarity in terms of positions has really hurt us in the past. Now that we understand that, this feels right and we will go ahead with that for a while and figure out if this is the right thing to do or not. You cannot chip and change immediately and create confusion among the group.

We are playing very well, unchanged team and did the job two with back to back wins. Don't see any reason why we should change this balance. It has done well for the team," Kohli added indicating that Rishabh Pant will have to wait longer before he returns to the playing XI in the ODIs.

Rahul, who batted at different positions in all the three ODIs against Australia, did a decent job with the bat and behind the wickets. Batting at No. 3, No. 5 and as an opener, Rahul scored a total of 146 runs at an impressive average of 48.67. Rahul first was asked to keep in the first ODI in Mumbai because Pant suffered a concussion after being hit by a Pat Cummins' bouncer. Pant, who missed the second ODI, was reportedly fully fit ahead of the series-decider in Bengaluru but Kohli anyway went with Rahul.

"It (Rahul's keeping) definitely allows us to play an extra batsman which strengthens our batting massively. That is a very important factor as far as the team balance is concerned," Kohli added in the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Giving the example of Rahul Dravid, who kept wickets and also played a vital role with the bat during the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Kohli insisted that KL Rahul's performances have brought the required balance in the side that helps the top three to be more positive.

"If you look at the 2003 World Cup when Rahul bhai started keeping, the balance became different because you could play an extra batter and guys at the top could really play positive cricket," Kohli said referring to India's runners-up showing in 2003," the Indian skipper further added.

When asked about Rahul's various batting positions in the concluded three-match series, Kohli said," Look, he is very open to playing anywhere because he is a proper batsman and can do you good in any format and any position in the game.

He won't go slam-bang from ball one but he can do what he did in Rajkot playing good cricketing shots. So I think a solid game plan and understanding of his game is helping him," Kohli explained.