KL Rahul hasn’t had the best of time with the bat of late and the pressure on the Indian vice-captain has been building. With scores of 1, 17, and 20 in his past three innings, the 30-year-old has struggled to get going.
Despite his torrid form, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have thrown their weight behind Rahul and insisted that the management will continue to back players who have shown ‘potential.’
Apart from struggling to score runs, Rahul’s fielding efforts have also been questioned by the fans which have led to major speculation regarding the Indian opener’s place in the team.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after India’s six-wicket win over Australia – as the hosts retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023, by taking a 2-0 lead in the series – Rohit stated that despite the ‘talk’ surrounding KL Rahul’s form, he will be backed in the near future given his past record.
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The Indian skipper reminded everyone about Rahul’s ton at Centurion last year and his heroics at the Lord’s in the past.
“Of late there has been lot of talk about his (KL Rahul) batting. For us as the management, we look at the potential of any individual, not just KL, and players with potential will get extended run,” stated Rohit.
“Batting at Lord’s on a damp wicket, it was one of the best hundreds I have seen, Centurion also, so he has potential and we are backing him,” he added.
Similarly, Dravid also highlighted the Indian opener’s past record, his exploits on overseas pitches for him to be given an extended run in the side despite the recent barren run.
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“KL Rahul has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got hundred in South Africa, England and we’ll continue to back him. I believe he has the quality and class to come out of this phase,” stated the Indian head coach.
Talking about the second Test, India chased down Australia’s 115-run lead after reducing the visitors to a meagre 113-run total in their second innings. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the lot as he registered seven scalps.
Earlier, Rohit’s side had scored 262 runs in reply to the 263-run total from Cummins’ side in their first innings.
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