India, April 28 -- When the dust settles, and another edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ends, the India selectors will spring into action for the next big assignment - the 2026 T20 World Cup. It is unlikely that a fresh face would be slotted in so close to the World Cup, leaving the competition between some familiar old faces and some fringe options. But even as the BCCI selection committee has months before they begin pondering over the possible combinations, Kevin Pietersen, mentor for Delhi Capitals, backed KL Rahul's return to the T20I set-up.

Rahul has not been part of the Indian T20I team since the 2022 World Cup in Australia. He even failed to make the cut for the 2024 T20 World Cup team despite having a 500-run IPL seaso...