The future of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya with the Indian team is not clear as of now and even as the BCCI still await the Supreme Court intervention, there are different permutations going on the Indian playing XI.
Vijay Shankar is already in the side as the seam-bowling all-rounder and there is also Ravindra Jadeja as another all-round option. There have been different opinions floating around over the verdict handed out to the players and not former Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has spoken about the issue.
"One person does not change anything. The core still remains the same. KL Rahul wasn't even there in the playing XI because we had Rayudu who did fabulously well against West Indies, so he deserved a chance before Rahul in the one-day format," Gambhir was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
'We should maintain consistency'
With the World Cup approaching, Gambhir said that the team management should not make too many changes and look to give the players who are in the squad for the ongoing series against New Zealand a longer rope.
"Yes Hardik Pandya [might have made a difference], but you've replaced him with Ravindra Jadeja, who again is an allrounder. We only have, what, ten ODIs left before the World Cup? So we should maintain consistency and give people who are going to play the first game of the World Cup these ten games and see how they deliver," Gambhir added.
The duo is currently suspended pending an inquiry in the matter. The Supreme Court, which will pronounce the verdict, has delayed the announcement to February 5, which could mean that the players could miss the Indian Premier League.
Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid has already said that people should not overreact to the comments, but the players should be educated in the future.
"It is not that players did not make mistakes in the past. It is not that mistakes will not be made in the future despite our best efforts to educate the youth. But let us not overreact please," Dravid told The Hindu on Monday.
