'KL Rahul would be my first choice': Agarkar, Gambhir urged to take immediate action, reminded 'you have plenty of…'

When the dust settles, and another edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ends, the India selectors will spring into action for the next big assignment - the 2026 T20 World Cup. It is unlikely that a fresh face would be slotted in so close to the World Cup, leaving the competition between some familiar old faces and some fringe options. But even as the BCCI selection committee has months before they begin pondering over the possible combinations, Kevin Pietersen, mentor for Delhi Capitals, backed KL Rahul's return to the T20I set-up. Delhi Capitals' mentor Kevin Pietersen backed KL Rahul for a return to Indian T20I team(PTI)

Rahul has not been part of the Indian T20I team since the 2022 World Cup in Australia. He even failed to make the cut for the 2024 T20 World Cup team despite having a 500-run IPL season last year. However, a revamped approach to T20 cricket in the ongoing edition of the IPL left Pietersen impressed as he backed Rahul for the No. 4 batting role as a wicketkeeper in the Indian T20I team.

"I'd bat KL at four for India in T20 cricket; I think you guys have got plenty of opening batters, you've got Surya who bats at the top, you've got all of these guys but the way that KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four and keep wicket for India," Pietersen said.

For Rahul, who shot to fame in the IPL in 2016, donning the Royal Challengers Bengaluru jersey, 2018 remains one of his best seasons, where he clobbered 659 runs at a strike rate of 158.41. He did cross the 500-run mark five times in the next six seasons, but fell behind in contention with his strike rate hovering in the 130s, amid the changing dynamics of the format. Moreover, captaincy stints with the Punjab Kings and the Lucknow Super Giants added more pressure on his strike rate.

However, in 2025, with no leadership burden, Rahul is back at his free-flowing best. Although the numbers may not have entirely reflected it, his knocks in tricky Chennai and Bengaluru conditions, where he scored well-paced 77 and 93* respectively, stand out.

Pietersen also opened up on how Rahul changed his approach in T20 cricket from last year. "KL has been playing in a very positive manner since late last year, mid to late last year. We saw how he finished off a couple of the games for India and almost sealed the deal in the Champions Trophy in Dubai. I've had a lot of incredibly brilliant conversations with him about batting, a lot of deep and meaningful conversations because when you grow up as a youngster like he did and you get taught defence, elbow up, play in the V and then all of a sudden in your thirties you've got to change it and you've got to become a different kind of player for a different format which is evolving all the time.

"It's very, very difficult. So the way that he has accepted that he's needed to change, the way that he has changed is of great, great credit to the person that he is. He is so positive, the way that he practices, the way that he trains, the way he thinks about the game and also the way that he talks about the game. That's KL," Pietersen added.

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