The Indian cricket team management is in a very difficult position. They are neither able to drop Rahul from the playing eleven nor are they able to cajole him into batting aggressively. Rahul’s batting against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup leaves a lot to be desired about his position. The fact that he is the vice-captain and the defacto captain must not have any influence on cricketing logic. I have often said this. Rahul is not an opener. His ideal position is in the middle order. I will continue to write this until the message is put across. So, what is eating Lokesh Rahul?
Rahul is coming back after a lengthy lay-off due to injury. Except for the 3 games against Zimbabwe, he hasn’t had a serious hit for more than a couple of months. He is bound to be rusty and that clearly showed in Zimbabwe. Be that as it may, it is not now but Rahul has been found wanting for a very longtime whenever he opens the innings. It does not matter whether it is red-ball cricket or white-ball cricket. He is unsure what to do when asked to open. He does not score quickly and as a result, it puts enormous amount of pressure on the middle and lower order.
In Test cricket, the other batsmen will be able to overcome but in white ball cricket and especially, in T20, it is tough for the following batsmen to make amends for Rahul’s slow batting because Rahul would have already eaten up lot of deliveries. Every batsman needs a few deliveries to settle down. I agree but Rahul takes way too many deliveries to settle down.
Laborious innings against a mediocre attack
Against Hong Kong, it was worse. Here you are up against a mediocre bowling attack and yet, you are struggling to push the ball off the square. If Rahul is incapable of handling Hong Kong’s bowling, what chances does he have against Afghanistan and Pakistan? It is likely that India will play Pakistan twice before the end of the tournament and we just cannot afford a top order suspect to open. Rahul innings was so slow that if not for a freakish Surya innings, India would have finished well below par. It is a crime not to score at a strike rate in excess of 100 against a side like Hong Kong. India will again play Pakistan and Afghanistan in the super-4s. Afghanistan possess good spinners and Pakistan have good bowlers. At this rate, how is he going to respond to that challenge is anybody’s guess.
His ideal position is down the order where he is free to hit. Rahul definitely has all the shots in the book. He is good of the front foot as well as of the backfoot. He does not have any shortcoming with either spinners or fast bowlers. The problem is in his head. Having played for so long, it is unfortunate that Rahul has still not understood his game. If opening is the only slot where Rahul can fit, it really is a shame because he is not suited for thar role.
Pant is a better option to open
It will be better for India to replace Rahul with Pant. I know I have been a critic of Pant in the short formats but an unsure Rahul is a liability and I do not mind opening with Pant in T20. Pant is someone who thrives with field restriction. He will be able to get complete value for his shots which he will not when he plays down the order. Also, being a left-hander, him opening with Rohit will make the bowlers change their plan often. With Rahul and Rohit, the bowlers pretty well know what length and line to bowl. India will have to make complete use of its potential. Pant is a mercurial batsman. He can tear the attack apart or he can fall early. Either way, the bowlers will be wary and they will always have in the back of their minds what Pant is capable of.
Supporters for Rahul
Sunil Gavaskar has supported Rahul and his slow batting.
“I think KL Rahul is a class act. With the kind of performance he has had over the years for India… if you give others a long rope, why can’t we give KL Rahul a long rope?
He is your vice-captain as well. You give him a long rope because we have all seen what he is capable of in the T20 format.
He is coming back from an injury, so that the rhythm is not quite there but the rhythm will come and when it comes, it will be devasting for the opposition.”
Gautham Gambhir says
“KL Rahul has so much ability. I will not hesitate to say that in this dressing room, he probably has more ability than Rohit Sharma and he has shown that by doing it in international cricket. Only he can stop himself if he doesn’t play freely.”
“He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. You have seen in international cricket and the IPL, you are only holding yourself back, just go play. T20 cricket was created so that you can express yourself.”
I do not what performance is Gavaskar talking about. Let us not forget that until as recently as 2020, Rahul was not considered an automatic pick in Tests. A couple of freak injuries to Gill and Mayank Agarwal forced the team management to pick Rahul. If as Gavaskar says Rahul is performed exceedingly well, he would not have been dropped in the first place.
Also, it really is a pity that everyone brings up his IPL performance where the competition is few rungs lower than international standards. Just ask Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh.
Wrapping up what is eating Lokesh Rahul?
I probably think that Rahul wants to look stylish all the time. He wants to play the perfect strokes and does not want to look ugly at the crease. If this is the case, he needs help. No amount of coaching will make him change. He needs someone with proven mental abilities to tell him that it is alright to look ugly.