Indian star opener KL Rahul, who was once touted as the future captain of team India, has found himself at the receiving end of criticism and trolling. All thanks to his poor form and inconsistent performances, Rahul has not just lost the vice-captaincy but has also been replaced in India’s T20 and Test’s playing XIs.
Rahul’s form has become a matter of huge concern for the Indian cricket team. There are not many who doubt the talent and abilities of Rahul however he hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations of the fans and the Indian cricket board.
In fact, after India’s disastrous performance in the T20 World Cup 2022, the team management has moved on from KL Rahul in the shortest format of the game. He hasn’t been named in any of India’s T20 squads and not just this, he has also lost his place as the opener in the ODI format as well. He is expected to bat in the middle order and is likely to take the gloves in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
_1652617853234_1652617861274.jpg)
Gautam Gambhir Opens Up On KL Rahul Getting Dropped From India’s XI
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer and World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir, who is also the mentor of LSG, talked about the latest developments in KL’s career and he stated that getting dropped from T20Is and Tests should “hurt” Rahul. Speaking to Sports Tak, Gambhir said:
“These things happen to every cricketer. Name one cricketer who has scored runs with the same consistency from the start to the end. And these things are good for you. These things should hurt you. If it has hurt him then it is a great thing for us. Jab aap kisi aur ko khelte hue dekhte hai, jab aap pila rahe hote hai (When you see someone else play and you are running around as a 12th man with water) it should hurt you,” Gambhir told Sports Tak.
KL Rahul has been a prolific run-scorer in the Indian Premier League. He has amassed more than 600 runs in four of the last five seasons. The year 2019 was the only exception, where he missed out by only 7 runs. However, his strike rate, especially at the beginning of his innings, has always been a cause of concern.
Talking about the same, Gambhir said that Rahul doesn’t need to score 600 runs, it will be fine if he can score 400 runs at a good strike rate that helps his team win the tournament. He said:
“And you don’t need to prove it to anybody when you are leading a franchise. You have scored four-five hundreds in the IPL. But if you are not in the T20 side, not in the playing XI of the Test team then you can look at IPL as an isolated tournament or look at it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Can I bat the way the team wants me to and score the way entire nation expects of me? Scoring more than 600 runs in an IPL season is not important. Score 400 but those should impact your team’s performance,”
KL Rahul will be next seen in action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia starting March 17. Following this ODI series, Rahul will have to use IPL 2023 as the launchpad of his turnaround in the other two formats of the game.
