Sunil Gavaskar reacts to Virat Kohli's decision to back KL Rahul for wicketkeeper's role

Sunil Gavaskar has backed Rishabh Pant to remain India's regular wicketkeeper in the limited-overs after Virat Kohli suggested that KL Rahul would be India's wicketkeeper-batsman "for a while" in white-ball cricket.

Rahul, batting at No. 3, scored 47 in the opening ODI against Australia in Mumbai. He then hammered 52-ball 80 in the second match in Rajkot while batting at No. 5. He then agreed to switch from lower-order to open in the series-decider in Bengaluru where he put up 19 runs. Along with his flexibility in the batting order, he also kept wickets and did a decent job there.

After Pant got hit and suffered a concussion in the Mumbai match, Rahul donned the gloves in the second innings. He continued to keep wickets in the absence of Pant in the second game and it is also understood that even though Pant was declared fit for the third and final game, Kohli went with Rahul for the wicketkeeper-batsman's role in the playing XI.

However, former Indian skipper Gavaskar has insisted India must persist with Pant as he can also play the finisher's role batting at No. 6.

"I will go with Rishabh Pant in the limited-overs cricket. If you need a finisher at No. 6 then Rishabh Pant can do that for the team. Also, he is a left-handed batsman, so considering the Indian batting line-up where we have only one left-handed batsman in form of Shikhar Dhawan, so if we have another southpaw in top-order then it will be beneficial for the team. So I will go with Pant," Gavaskar told Aaj Tak.

IN a press conference after India's 2-1 series win over Australia on Sunday, Kohli hinted that Pant would have to wait before he returns to the ODI squad.

"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 told media.

"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," the Indian captain added indicating that Pant will have to wait longer before he returns to the playing XI in the ODIs.