"He would have convinced the management not to drop Prasidh" - Mohammad Kaif's huge claim ahead of IND vs SA 2025 2nd ODI

Former batter Mohammad Kaif made a huge claim on KL Rahul's captaincy ahead of India's second ODI against South Africa. The Men in Blue won the first game in Ranchi by 17 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

India played with six bowlers in the first game, going with a different strategy than their usual route of going for batting depth. Mohammad Kaif reckoned that it would have been KL Rahul's call to play an extra pacer in Prasidh Krishna over Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, or an additional all-rounder in Nitish Kumar Reddy. Rahul is leading in the absence of Shubman Gill.

Kaif added that Rahul would have taken a stance and could put his word across, as compared to Gill, who is a young captain.

"Sometimes some captains cannot convince the coach. Gill is a young captain and I think he cannot put his thinking properly. KL has been playing for a long time and he even has mutual understanding with Rohit and Virat. I think he would have convinced the management not to drop Prasidh and not play Pant, Reddy or Jurel. There would have been a long meeting and he would have taken a stance," he said on his YouTube channel.

Prasidh picked the crucial scalp of Corbin Bosch, which was also the final South African wicket, as India defended their total of 349/8 successfully. He returned figures of 1/48 in 7.2 overs.

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Mohammad Kaif feels India will go with the same playing 11 in the second ODI

Having won the first game, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that India would not make any changes in the playing 11 going into the second ODI. He expressed that batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who could not score a lot, should be given more opportunities.

Mohammad Kaif also reflected that it was a good team with six bowlers and seven proper batters, with Harshit Rana at eight, who can tonk the ball as well.

"Sometimes some captains cannot convince the coach. Gill is a young captain and I think he cannot put his thinking properly. KL has been playing for a long time and he even has mutual understanding with Rohit and Virat. I think he would have convinced the management not to drop Prasidh and not play Pant, Reddy or Jurel. There would have been a long meeting and he would have taken a stance," he said.

The second ODI will be played on Wednesday, December 3. The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur will host this game. India will be keen to seal the series, while it will be a do-or-die affair for the Proteas to keep their hopes of winning the series alive.