While India has well and truly outplayed Australia in the first two matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, batter Kl Rahul has been under the scanner. Although he is not the only Indian batter to not have done well in the series so far, his position in the team is being questioned constantly. Why?
The Karnataka-born star has been struggling with his form for quite some time now, but the team management continues to back him. With a lot of batters waiting for a single chance, the Indian management’s support for KL Rahul has been a bit mysterious.
Venkatesh Prasad says drop KL Rahul
Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has been quite vocal about Rahul’s place in the team amid a string of failures. In his series of tweets, Prasad pointed out that Rahul needs to be dropped from the side.
There have been mixed reactions from across the cricket world over Prasad’s views.
Some are supporting his views while many are disagreeing with him lashing out at a player publicly. The question persists: Is it time to drop Kl Rahul or not?
India captain & coach backing talented Rahul?
The 30-year-old has played 81 Test innings, scoring 2642 runs at an average of 33.44. For a top-order batter in the longest format of the game, it is an above-par average but then why is team India backing KL Rahul so much?
The batter is often referred to as someone who has potential and class. Although that is not just the reason that Rahul keeps retaining his position in the team, it has more to do with him scoring a couple of good big innings in tough conditions in the last ten matches.
Even after scoring 20, 17 and 1 in the three innings of the Border Gavaskar Trophy so far, India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday told broadcasters:
“Of late, there has been a lot of talk about his batting. For us, as team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL. I was asked in the past about a lot of players. If a guy has potential, he will get an extended run. Not just KL.
"If you look at the couple of hundreds he got, especially at Lord's, batting on that damp pitch. Centurion was another win.
"Both came in India winning both games. That's the potential he has,” Rohit said in the press conference on Sunday.
Even coach Rahul Dravid said: "This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He's got hundreds in South Africa and England, we'll continue to back him."
Vice-captaincy snatched away from Rahul
However, in the squad for the last two Tests, Rahul hasn’t been named the vice-captain, meaning that he might lose his place despite what Dravid said. Shubman Gill, who has been in top form, could come replace Rahul in the playing XI.
But will it happen in the next Test at Indore? Looks tough. The way Dravid and Co. have been backing KL, he might get another game at Indore. And who knows if he ends up scoring big, Rahul might even continue to play thereafter too.
Our verdict
All said, considering how poor KL Rahul has been for quite some time, it really is the time to drop him.
It is good that management backs a player in his poor time but when the unimpressive run extends a bit too long, insisting with that particular player is injustice to those waiting for a single chance.
