Watch: KL Rahul Sweating It Out in The Nets With Hopes of Being Picked for IND-BAN Tests

With a busy Test season ahead, the a majority of the Indian players will be in action at the start of the domestic season by taking part in the Duleep Trophy. While the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin have been rested from the competition, others will be dusting off the cobwebs by getting into the red-ball mode including KL Rahul who has played just two competitive games since the conclusion of IPL 2024.

A video of the India cricketer has been shared on social media where he’s seen batting in the nets.

Rahul also unfurled a sweet straight drive past the bowler.

Rahul has been part of India’s teams across formats but now faces a stiff competition to make a comeback in the Tests. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have taken up the spots as the opener and number three respectively following their stellar performances in the five-match series against England at home.

With the return of Rishabh Pant, Rahul’s selection becomes even more challenging as the former is likely to be picked as the designated wicketkeeper.

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Pant also has a superior record at home in comparison to Rahul.

Pant has scored a total of 639 runs in 8 Tests at home at an average of 63.9. Meanwhile, Rahul has had a longer run with 17 games scoring 1031 runs at an average of 41.24.

The Indian team will gear up for the upcoming two-match Test series against their next-door neighbours Bangladesh which set to take place in Chennai and Kanpur. This would be followed by a three-match T20I series with matches to be held in Gwalior, Delhi and Hyderabad.

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Rahul will hope that he can get a run of games to prove that he is the top choice the Indian middle-order.

Assuming Rahul does get enough opportunities, he would be expected to perform consistently during the home Tests to ensure his selection for the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy set to take place in Australia later this year.

The 32-year-old last featured in an international game when India took on Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Colombo. But he had an uneventful outing after being dismissed for a 2-ball duck.