Australia vs India 2018-19: Why India should not pick KL Rahul for the first Test
KL Rahul became a household name and was termed as the future star of the Indian cricket after a splendid IPL season in 2018. The current year should be one to remember and forget for the talented right-hander.
Rahul has struggled with his form after an outstanding century against England in the final Test at the Oval. The second half of the year has not been anything like the first half for the elegant batsman. He hasn't been comfortable with the swinging and bouncing ball. He couldn't even score runs against an underwhelming Windies attack in the two-Test series at home.
Rahul's poor form in Tests in 2018 has been exemplified by a string of low scores and indifferent performances. He has scored just 366 runs in 17 innings at a lowly average 22. His only notable performance came in the fourth innings in a losing cause when he hammered 149 against England.
The injury-enforced exclusion of Prithvi Shaw from the first Test might just have given Rahul another opportunity to prove himself at Adelaide. But the question remains if his technique is good enough to handle the quick Australian fast bowlers.
While their batting lineup has been affected by the suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia still possess the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and spin wizard Nathon Lyon in their bowling attack.
At the moment, Rahul is extremely low on confidence. In Australia, playing an out of form batsman is a risky move as the players as well as the raucous crowd often get involved and pose a challenge of temperament. While Rahul is still a technically solid player, he seems to be nervous at the crease and has been finding news ways to get out.
With the series against Australia being a four match affair, the first two matches hold a lot of importance to the fortunes of India. In order to win series away from home in tough countries, the visiting team needs substantial opening partnerships to lessen the pressure on the middle order. The situation seems to be the same for India at the moment as they look to set the tone by unleashing an aggressive opener.
Considering Rahul's current loss in form and precariously low on confidence body-language, it would do a world of good for him to keep working hard on his game in the nets and get himself ready if he gets an opportunity in the latter half of the series. For the first Test at Adelaide, India must call-up either Shikhar Dhawan or Mayank Agarwal to replace the injured Prithvi Shaw. In Murali Vijay, they already have one reliable opener.