KL Rahul’s Test career has once again become a hot topic after his 42-run knock in the ongoing first Test against England at Headingley. Despite being in the system for over a decade, KL Rahul’s role in the Indian red-ball setup remains unclear. However, in Leeds, he opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Now, former Indian cricketers and well-known commentators Deep Dasgupta and Sanjay Manjrekar have engaged in a lively conversation over how the team management has handled Rahul’s Test career over the years.
While Rahul has 3257 runs from 58 tests to his name, his average of just 33.57 is not impressive at all. For someone with over 10 years of experience, many believe his numbers should have been far more impactful.
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But the real debate is about how he's been shuffled around the batting order without any consistency, which was yet again highlighted by the commentators. Deep Dasgupta has noted that KL Rahul has never been allowed to settle.
In 11 years, the right-handed batter opened, batted in the middle order, and even kept wickets, but has rarely had a long rope in one fixed role. Rahul's adaptability is admirable, but the lack of stability might be one of the key reasons he hasn’t reached his full potential in Tests, as pointed out by Dasgupta.
Deep Dasgupta urged India to give fix role to KL Rahul
Deep Dasgupta said on Star Sports ahead of the start of India's innings, “See, I just hope they give him a permanent position now. He made his debut in 2014. It's been more than a decade, but we still don't know where he fits into the Indian Test side. Is he a middle-order batter? Is he an opener?
I think it's about time to tell him, 'KL, you've got to play this series or whatever, and you’re going to play as an opener. This is what you’re going to do. And I think once you give him that position, that security, we will see a different KL Rahul.”
India uses Rahul according to their need, and the former wicketkeeper batter feels it was unfair to the Karnataka star. He urged the team management to give Rahul a fixed position to unlock his real potential in the longest format of the game.
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Sanjay Manjrekar questions KL Rahul’s Test credentials
Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar politely disagreed with Deep Dasgupta’s take on KL Rahul. The former Indian batter said that Rahul hasn’t shown the level of consistency needed at any batting position. He further noted that if Rahul had strong numbers, like averaging over 50 as an opener, no one would move him down the order.
He also pointed out that the upcoming innings in the ongoing five-match Test series would be a big test for Rahul, especially with the added responsibility on his shoulders of being one of the few senior players in the squad after Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement.
Sanjay Manjrekar said during the same discussion, “Am I allowed to contradict? I will be nice. I believe KL Rahul has not shown the kind of consistency that’s expected of him at any position. Had this been a guy who averaged 52 as an opener, nobody would dare drop him to No. 4 or 5. Having said that, huge responsibility is on him. And Deep, given your assessment of leaving the balls, we'll see how Rahul goes about it today.”
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