The Indian wicket-keeper batter, KL Rahul, failed to perform in the opening clash of the three-match Test series against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, and that resulted in him losing his position for the second encounter of the series at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune for the second game.
KL Rahul batted beautifully in South Africa towards the end of last year when he celebrated a beautiful century at the SuperSport Park in Centurion and extended the good form in the first of the five-match Test series against England in Hyderabad.
The injury during the contest also ruled him for the remainder of the series, and he missed a significant amount of the game before making a comeback in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. Even though the veteran failed in the first game in Chennai, he showed better execution with the bat in Kanpur during the second game.
Also Read: Gujarat Titans To Hire This Former Indian Opener As Batting Coach For IPL 2025
But his position was again under threat when he couldn’t come up with flying colors in Bengaluru, which led to him getting dropped for the second game in Pune. KL Rahul was one of the five batters who scored a duck in the first innings of the red-ball game, that India went on to lose against the Kiwis at home after 36 years.
Sanjay Manjrekar urges the BCCI support staff to keep working with KL Rahul
The rough patch of the Karnataka batter has been going on for a long time. In this ongoing year, he has managed only 234 runs in eight innings at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate of around 70, with the help of a couple of half-centuries at a best score of 86.
However, in the previous year (2023), the veteran managed 143 runs in five innings at an average of under 29 and a strike rate of over 50, with the help of one century, which displays the sheer amount of inconsistency he had been going through.
The year before that during 2022, KL Rahul cracked 137 runs in eight innings at an average of under 18 and a strike rate of less than 40, with the help of one half-century. This issue has been continuing for the batter for the last three years, and despite Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, trying to give a huge run to the batter, had to drop him.
The former Indian batter, Sanjay Manjrekar, has urged the support staff of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to work on the batter even when he is not part of the playing eleven.
“Yes (Rahul will have to make way). Shubman Gill is the in-form No. 3. I feel sorry for KL Rahul because he has been quite an enigma, scoring 8-9 (8) centuries but, he averages 35 (33.87) in 50 (53) odd tests.” The former batter expressed to ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the Test match.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant Prepared To Enter IPL 2025 Mega Auction; To Ditch Relationship With Delhi Capitals
“He (KL Rahul) has two centuries in South Africa, and the last one he got was the only one from an Indian, so a guy who can do that somehow hasn’t been able to sustain quality performances. He’s got so much class and ability. Let’s hope somebody works on him when he’s away from playing XI.” The Mumbai-born remarked.
The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, displayed confidence in keeping their faith in the batter when he addressed the pre-match press conference. The former opener praised the decent knock of the batter in Kanpur in difficult conditions and vows to back him in the future.