Supporting cast to star?

Dubai: Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul is not sure if India would tinker with the winning combination in a big tournament like Champions Trophy despite sealing a semifinals spot, but is certain that the team has learnt to do better in the ICC tournaments of late.

With big wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan, Rohit Sharma’s side has already secured a spot in the knockout stage with a game to go against New Zealand on Sunday.

The current scenario is completely different to their T20 World Cup campaign in 2021 in Dubai when they suffered a heavy 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan, then lost to New Zealand and eventually missed out on qualifying for the semifinals.

Asked if the team was in a happy place, considering the comfortable position they were in, Rahul said he had not thought on those lines.

“Those are things that did affect us back then. And it wasn’t a pleasant time for us players to not be in the semifinals (in 2021) or do well in the competitions. I think we’ve learned from that. In the last two or three ICC events, we’ve done really well, we’ve performed really well,” Rahul said during a media interaction.

“We’re not thinking about what happened in the past or the good things or the bad things. Just what was important was to stay in the present. I get the sense within the team that everyone’s quite relaxed and quite balanced. And everyone’s only thinking and talking about the game that is in front of us and not about winning in the semifinals. We are just taking it one step at a time.”

Pacer Arshdeep Singh, keeper-batter Rishabh Pant, spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar have not yet got a game.

Since India is already in the semifinal, will the team management be tempted to try out benched players?

“I’m not in the leadership group to have to make that decision. But I’m sure there will be some temptation. I’ve been in these positions before where there’s an opportunity where you can try out the players who have important games and do get a game. But I don’t know if that will happen in a Championship Trophy,” he said.

Rahul said a team like New Zealand can never be take lightly. They defeated India in the three-Test series recently and had also beaten them in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

“It’s my first Champions Trophy and what I’ve realised is things happen really quickly. It’s not like the World Cup where even if you don’t start well, there’s an opportunity for you to come back. But in this tournament, it’s just really hard. You need to be really switched on.No game is easy or no team can be taken lightly. So, yeah, that’s how we’ve looked at things in New Zealand. They’ve always been a very formidable team and a very competitive team“It’s my first Champions Trophy and what I’ve realised is things happen really quickly. It’s not like the World Cup where even if you don’t start well, there’s an opportunity for you to come back. But in this tournament, it’s just really hard. You need to be really switched on,” he added.

“No game is easy or no team can be taken lightly. So, yeah, that’s how we’ve looked at things in New Zealand. They’ve always been a very formidable team and a very competitive team. We’ve played against them a lot of times in ICC events and they’ve ramped up against us. It’s been quite even in the contest,” he said.

Comeback pacer Mohammed Shami’s ability to add late swing makes wicket-keeping a tough task, and Rahul has got a fair taste of that. “He gets the ball to wobble behind the stump as well. So that’s been very challenging. He’s very active and that’s something that not many people talk

about,” he said.