Indian opener and former vice-captain KL Rahul is perhaps going through one of the worst performance spells in his career. Scoring only a single run before being dismissed in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahul’s last few Test innings haven’t been impressive either. With 8, 12, 10, 22, 23, 10, 2, 20, 17 and 1 being the scores Rahul has managed to put up in his last 10 test innings, clamour around his performance has been growing.
Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad had recently called into question Rahul’s inconsistent performance in red-ball cricket. Highlighting the fact that while Rahul had scored six overseas centuries in the format, Prasad said that his average in the last 56 matches was just 30, due to a long string of low scores.
Prasad compared Rahul’s performance with other Indian batters like Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan, and even out-of-form Ajnkya Rahane. Rahane, the former vice-captain, was dropped after a decline in form even as his overseas average was 40. Prasad questioned Rahul’s inclusion in the playing XI for the third and fourth Tests.
ALSO READ |
“If he is picked in the playing 11, Indore (3rd Test) is his best chance of coming back to form and silencing critics like me. Else needs to play county cricket, perform well and make a comeback in the Test side,” Prasad said in a Twitter thread.
Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra, however, spoke up in defence of Rahul. Questioning Prasad’s motives in talking about Rahul’s statistics, the former batsman in a 12-minute video on YouTube, claimed that Prasad had initially failed to mention the numbers and statistics of other Indian batsmen, including those who could potentially replace Rahul. Chopra also stated that talking about a player during an ongoing series could cause a distraction for the team.
While Prasad and Chopra made several rebuttals to each other on social media, former cricketers have also given their opinion on Rahul’s lacklustre performance.
Former spin maestro Harbhajan Singh called for commentators to leave Rahul alone and to have faith in the batsman. “Can we leave KL Rahul alone guys? He hasn’t done any crime. He is still a top player. He will come back strong. We all go (sic) through such patches in international cricket. He is not the first one (sic) or the last one. So please respect the fact that he is our own player and have faith,” he said on Twitter.
Dinesh Karthik, who has played with Rahul on the field, said while Rahul’s dismissal in the second Test was unlucky, his below-par performance in the last innings have brought his form into question. “He is a class player. He is very good in all formats. At this point, I don't think it's the technique, it's what is happening between the ears. He might need some time away from the game. Come back fresh for the ODIs,” Kartik said on Cricbuzz.
“I felt bad for KL Rahul. He has been under the scanner. But one thing is for sure, KL will come back strongly and when he does, there are not too many right-handed batters who can match him with the quality and range of shots,” Kartik added.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
