The Indian opener KL Rahul has come under intense scrutiny for his poor form with the bat in Test and ODIs. Between the India vs Bangladesh one day international (ODI) at Mirpur on December 4 and the India vs Australia Delhi Test that concluded on February 19, Rahul scored only 300 runs in his last 13 innings, including an unbeaten knock, resulting in a batting average of just 25 – not good enough for the opening batsman of a team that is otherwise performing well in the field.
Despite India’s recent victory against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, Rahul’s poor run with the bat has once again raised questions about his selection in the team. In his last 10 Test innings, he has managed a top score of just 23. Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad has claimed that Rahul’s selection is based on “favouritism” rather than performance. Prasad has cited the batting records of other players like Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, and Ajinkya Rahane to highlight the unfair selection of Rahul in the Indian cricket team.
Many cricket experts believe that Shubman Gill, who was picked as the ICC Player of the Month for January following a series of spectacular innings in the limited-over format, deserves a place in the XI for the Tests versus Australia. However, despite scoring 757 runs, including three centuries, in the last 10 international innings at an average of 94.62, Gill has been denied a place in the team as Rahul, making a return following a short break, has taken his place as an opener alongside captain Rohit Sharma.
While Sharma defends Rahul’s selection, many critics believe that his poor performance and unfair selection are becoming more ironical with each passing match. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named an unchanged squad for the remainder of the two Test matches, meaning that Rahul had retained his place and also stood a chance to open the batting for India despite a series of poor scores. However, the opener has been relieved of his duties as vice-captain, which many see as a sign that his position in the team is in jeopardy.
To regain his form, KL Rahul needs to play county cricket in England and score runs to earn his place back in the team. Rahul will be turning 31 in April, which means he still has a few years left to rise higher as a batsman. He has the skills and temperament, and he only needs to regain his form without being under pressure.
