Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 reasons why India should continue to back KL Rahul
India have their noses in front after the second day of the first Test at Adelaide. After posting 250 courtesy a brilliant century from Cheteshwar Pujara, the visitors engaged in a battle with the Aussie batsmen - battle that kept swinging like a pendulum. But at the end of the day, it had tilted ever so slightly in favor of Virat Kohli's men.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers and removed three Aussie batsmen, while Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets each. Travis Head led a strong fightback and is unbeaten on 61, with Australia on 191/7 after 88 overs.
India's innings culminated on the first ball of Day 2 as Josh Hazlewood removed Mohammed Shami. India finished off with 250 runs, most of which were scored by Pujara.
But another strong talking point from the first day was the continuation of the poor form of KL Rahul, the Indian opener, who got dismissed for just 2 runs. Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at Rahul, and said that he should be dropped if he doesn't fire in the second innings.
Many other cricketing legends have been talking about this too, and Rahul will have his task cut out when he goes out to bat on Day 3.
India have been backing Rahul for a long time, but the opener hasn't been repaying their faith. If he continues in the same fashion, they might withdraw their support.
That said, I believe Rahul doesn't deserve to be dropped yet. Here are three reasons why India should continue to back him:
#3 He's in the metamorphosis process and needs to be given time
There comes a time in every batsman's career where he matures and starts being regarded as a senior player in the team. Sachin Tendulkar got to that stage very early in his career, while for Virat Kohli it was his brilliant tour Down Under in 2014-15 that turned out to be his breakthrough point.
Rahul hasn't reached that stage yet, but he is currently in his metamorphosis process and should be given more opportunities to prove himself. India should wait for a couple more matches at least wait before deciding to drop him.
There's no doubt that there are talented players like Hanuma Vihari who are waiting for an opportunity, but Rahul is regarded as the next big thing in Indian cricket and such comments don't come without a lot of talent.
The Indian team needs to back him, but not go soft on him either. They must make him fight for his place while giving him the chance to do so.
Many experts have been right in saying that it's high time he starts performing. But at the same time, he needs to be given a bit of breathing space and some time.