The curious case of KL Rahul has once again come under focus following his struggle in the first Test against Australia. The Indian vice-captain had a tough outing against the Aussies in Nagpur. He managed just 20 runs off 71 balls before he became the maiden Test wicket of spinner Todd Murphy. His failure with the bat drew flak from the fans but former batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that Rahul would come back strong in Delhi.
Rahul has been going through a rough patch lately. As far as the longest format is concerned, he last brought up a fifty against South Africa at Johannesburg in January 2022, and since then, his highest score in the last eight Test innings is 23.
Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar backed underfire opener KL Rahul to be in the hosts playing eleven for the second Test against Australia, starting next week, citing his performance in the last 1-2 years.
“I feel the way he has batted in the last 1-2 years, he performed well. I feel he should be given one more chance. I’m sure he will be backed for the Test match in Delhi. After that you can give it a thought because you have an in-form batter ready to replace him, Shubman Gill,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by India Today.
Agreeing with Gavaskar’s views, former India cricketer Madan Lal stated that Rahul, the designated vice-captain in the side, should get at least one more chance.
“He should definitely get a chance. Even when Vikram Rathour had come to the press conference, he had reminded that he scored a century in South Africa,” Laal said.
“He does have the ability but he has been out of form lately. Scoring against Australia is a big challenge in itself and getting those runs gives a morale boost. But he can be stuck here. However, based on his ability, he should get another chance,” he added.
With a 1-0 lead in the four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India and Australia will play the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi from February 17.
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