'Ridiculous is an understatement' Ex-Indian pacer blasts KL Rahul's exclusion in 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka

India lost their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, marking the first time in 27 years that they have been defeated by their neighbors in a bilateral ODI series. The series concluded with a drawn first ODI, but India faltered in the subsequent matches, conceding the series to Sri Lanka.

The third ODI saw major changes in the Indian lineup, with KL Rahul being dropped from the team. Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag were picked instead, and Rishabh Pant took over the wicketkeeping duties from Rahul.

Former Indian pacer Dodda Ganesh expressed his disbelief on social media, regarding team selection especially dropping KL Rahul from the squad.

"Only in a crazy universe will u have Dube and Riyan Parag playing ahead of KL Rahul, in a decider ODI. Don’t understand what’s happening. He was leading India just 3 ODIs ago and all of a sudden, one failure & he is out of the playing XI. Ridiculous is an understatement #SLvIND," Ganesh wrote in his post.

Ganesh further added, "If a player who’s had great success in the last year can be dropped after technically one failure, it creates a sense of insecurity amongst players. Well, you can’t build cricket teams like this. Who would’ve thought that India would lose to SL so convincingly? #SLvIND."

The first ODI ended in a dramatic tie, with KL Rahul scoring 31 off 43 balls and adding 57 for the sixth wicket with Axar Patel, who contributed 33 off 57 balls. Despite their efforts, the match ended in a deadlock.

In the second ODI, KL Rahul was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Jeffrey Vandersay. This dismissal seemed to play a crucial role in the selectors' decision-making for the final match.