KL Rahul has been the big talking point for all the right reasons this time. KL Rahul‘s consistent performance has earned plaudits through many former players and experts and they have been impressed to see how good KL Rahul has been. KL Rahul always had the talent to conquer a series, but now he has done so with performance and deserves all the plaudits.
England spinner in white-ball cricket Adil Rashid was the latest to shower praise on KL Rahul. Rashid felt that Rahul went under the radar throughout the series and praised him for his batting throughout the series. Rashid also reckoned that this was the first time Rahul was consistent in all five matches and did not taper off after the initial 2-3 matches.
Adil Rashid’s views on KL Rahul’s consistent performance
Speaking on the same podcast as Moeen Ali, Rashid added: “He generally goes under the radar. This series how he’s batted, his tempo, his technique, how you speak of the art of batting in Test cricket, there was a lot of that in it. He had his game in order. He looked very comfortable. This has probably been the first where you’ve seen that over a period of five games, where he’s consistently looked class.”Â
KL Rahul shone through with the bat as he was the third highest run getter in the series and second highest Indian after Shubman Gill. He finished with 532 runs at an average of 53.20 with two fifties and two hundreds to his name. He was second to Shubman Gill as far as India is concerned and third overall as Joe Root with 537 runs had gone over him. Still, it is a great effort by Rahul.
KL Rahul: The Man Who Flies Under The Radar
Despite performing so well, KL Rahul tends to go under the radar as no attention is given to him. All the attention is carried away by Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jasprit Bumrah, to name a few. Yet, it is KL Rahul who is expected to do the hard yards and perform for his team when the chips are down. When he fails, it is the fans and social media warriors who target him, but when he does well, it seems he is not given the credit he deserves.
KL Rahul’s personality is also such that he doesn’t mind staying under the radar and staying away from the spotlight. But we have seen unnecessary criticism come his way for no fault of his many a times in the past. KL deserves to get credit and respect from everyone. What Adil Rashid mentioned is so true that he goes under the radar and he is happy to do the hard yards for the team. The fact that he has been versatile has also gone against him as he has batted in various batting positions apart from opening.
That was one of the main reasons why his average at the start of this Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was 35 and it flattered to deceive everyone. Rahul has had to face injury issues as well but the lack of form originated from batting in various positions and also tough pitches at home. Rahul struggled batting in rank turners against New Zealand and it remains to be seen how he shapes up in the home series against West Indies.
His role and performance will be crucial even at home as this young side needs guiding from senior players and Rahul is one of the prominent seniors in the side. Rahul currently is out of favour from the T20I side while there are no ODIs scheduled in the foreseeable future. So, most likely his next assignment will be the Test series against West Indies from October 2. All eyes will be on Rahul when that series comes along and how he guides the youngsters through the next phase and one hopes he continues to flourish for his side going forward as well.
KL Rahul is the mainstay and important member of the Indian side and one cannot deny that at all and he needs to be respected more by the Indian fans and their fraternity.
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