Kolkata, Feb. 21 -- Former captain Sourav Ganguly believes KL Rahul's "fantastic" statistics in ODIs could be the underlying reason behind head coach Gautam Gambhir preferring him over the explosive wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant in India's Champions Trophy playing XI.

The foreshadowing of Rahul keeping the wickets ahead of Pant was all over the place during India's 3-0 series triumph over England at home. After India took an unassailable 2-0 lead, reports flooded social media, suggesting that Pant would take over Rahul's duties for the final clash before the Champions Trophy.

However, the reports from the rumour mill turned out to be untrue when India's playing XI confirmed Rahul had retained his spot. The decision to bench Pant befo...