KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant - Statistical comparison in ODIs at No 5 and 6

KL Rahul with an unbeaten 42 off just 34 balls in a crunch semifinal against Australia in the Champions Trophy shut many critics up as after coming in at No 6, the wicketkeeper-batter made sure he took his side to a victory

Rahul, who played at No 5 as keeper-batter for a couple of years, was kept on tenterhooks yet again as far as his batting number was concerned, before and during the ongoing Champions Trophy. However, despite the constant shuffle, Rahul has managed to hold his own whether at 5 or 6

No 5 is KL Rahul's best position with the right-hander having scored 1,299 runs in 31 innings averaging 56.48 including two centuries and nine fifties. At No 6, in seven innings, Rahul averages 40 scoring 160 runs

No 6 means, Rahul will get a fewer number of balls to play and on most occasions will have to hit from ball one. Given how it played out against Australia, Rahul could take a few balls, understand the conditions and then fire which is what India have always desired from him

Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has played majority of his ODIs at No 4. His only century in the format came while batting in the top order against England but his numbers are not healthy even at 4

Pant averages 31.13 at No 4 but he has a better record while playing at No 5 even though the sample size is short. At No 5, in 7 innings, Pant has three fifties to his name while scoring 310 runs at 44.29

At No 6, Pant has played just two matches scoring just 45 runs. Hence, Pant hasn't had a great run in ODIs and hence, even if Rahul didn't perform as well as many would have hoped for in a couple of games, he has been preferred

Even at 4, where Rahul has played just 13 matches, he averages 55, 24 more than Pant. Yes, Pant is much safer than Rahul behind the stumps but the balance the latter is providing is worth its weight in gold, hence, India are ready to take that chance with the keeping side of things