KL Rahul is making headlines for his show stellar performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. With 641 runs in 13 matches to his name — Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain is the leading scorer of this season. His magnificent performance has earned him the call back in India’s Test squad for the Australia tour scheduled after IPL 2020.
In his last 12 innings in Tests, while playing as an opener, KL Rahul has not managed to score a fifty while was out seven times before even touching 10 runs mark. His poor outing led to his ouster from the Test team after India’s tour against West Indies last year. As a result, Rohit Sharma was promoted to the opener position in the longest format.
But now, as Rohit has been claimed as injured, the selectors have backed Rahul for the Australia tour. His sublime form has forced India’s team management to give him another opportunity.
Aakash Chopra explains why KL Rahul deserves to play in the Australia tour:
Aakash Chopra, the renowned commentator, is also full of praise for KL Rahul’s batting prowess. Many have weren’t in favour of Rahul’s return into the Test setup. Still, he said that the flamboyant batsman has not many technical flaws and deserves to be given an opportunity.
“Rahul is the kind of player who demands a bit more investment. His technical game is intact even when he is scoring at a rate of knots in the shortest format. His game has no obvious flaws that might make him susceptible to the trials of Test match cricket.”
Aakash Chopra expressed that playing KL Rahul might backfire, but as per him, the player with a calibre like him should be more opportunities than the rest. He added that it might look unfair decision to some but Indian cricket will be benefited from the tour if he gets going.
“Whether he will make it big in Test cricket or not, we will find out in good time, but there is merit in getting him back in whites. Players with his quality of skills and talent will get more opportunities than the rest, and while it might seem unfair at the time, like it felt to me in 2007, it might be the right decision for Indian cricket,” he further wrote.
Former Test cricketer explains that even though the Indian team has many options for the opening position with the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, Rahul looks to be the priority after his classic performance in the 13th edition of the tournament.
“In the ideal world, Sharma, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw would be the first-choice openers and Shubman Gill would have been in the squad as back-up. With Sharma’s injury and the lack of clarity about how well or not he is recovering, the selectors had to pick another opener in the side. If it was only about IPL numbers, they would have toyed with the idea of reinstating Shikhar Dhawan too,” Aakash Chopra wrote in his article.
KL Rahul has also been announced as the deputy of Virat Kohli in the white-ball.