Between the contrasting opening templates that accomplished Sunil Gavaskar and aggressive Virender Sehwag have set over the last few decades, new batters atop the Indian batting tree are expected to carve their own path in Tests. It is never easy, even if there have been steady pairs like M. Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan earlier or Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal now.
It is in this layered zone that K.L. Rahul often flutters in and out. Having opened for Karnataka, Rahul does know the complexities of facing the new ball. But within the Indian squad, he has never held on to a fixed opening slot. In his Test debut at Melbourne in 2014, Rahul strode out at number six. In his next Test at Sydney, he became the opener with a 110 under his belt.
The big hundred and the middling run have often characterised Rahul’s stint in Tests. Out of his eight hundreds in cricket’s longest format, only one has been scored at home while the rest have been registered overseas. Surely, that is the mark of a quality batter.
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A tight defence and all the shots in the batting kitty marked out Rahul for higher glory. Add to it his wicket-keeping skills and you have a versatile player. But form issues have been a frustrating undercurrent that have shadowed Rahul. After the Bengaluru Test against the visiting New Zealanders, he was dropped from the playing eleven.
However, at Down Under and with Rohit on a paternity break and Shubman Gill nursing an injury, Rahul gained another opportunity to open at Perth’s Optus Stadium. During India’s 150-run first innings, Rahul looked the most organised batter with his 26 being tough runs scored against a probing attack.
In India’s second visit to the batting crease, Rahul was again at the forefront. His 77 was a lovely knock, based on watchful eyes, steady hands, decisive footwork and an intimate awareness about his off-stump. He was also the calming influence on Jaiswal while the latter galloped towards his ton. It was the duo’s 201-run alliance besides incisive spells by skipper Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli’s hundred that helped India nail that 295-run victory.
Hopefully, Rahul has found another toehold within the playing eleven. There was a phase in the past when he scored nine fifties in seven Tests and there were also stages in which he struggled. He has been a stand-in captain at times too. But his overall average of 34.26 in Tests needs a drastic improvement.
With Indian cricket moving past Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul remains the link between the Rohit-Kohli generation to the one that features Gill and Jaiswal. At 32, Rahul perhaps will use this current Australian tour to pay tribute to his own talent.
Indian cricket needs that from a player, often trolled, but one you cannot discount. With Rohit back, it remains to be seen if Rahul would be pushed down the order, a change the latter is accustomed to perennially.