"Easy SCAPEGOAT" - Fans react as KL Rahul dropped for 2024 2nd IND vs NZ Test
India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was dropped for the second Test against New Zealand at MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday, October 24. The right-handed batter was replaced by Shubman Gill, who missed the last game due to neck stiffness.
The Bengaluru-born player had returned with scores of 0 and 12 in his two innings against the Kiwis in the opening Test, where the hosts lost by eight wickets to trail the three-match series by 0-1 margin.
Rahul failed to make amends in the second innings, where other Indian batters delivered after an embarrassing 46 in the first essay. Sarfaraz Khan made the most of the opportunity by scoring 150. Based on his current form, the Mumbai batter indirectly replaced Rahul in the playing XI.
The 32-year-old has failed to showcase consistency in Tests, returning with 16, 22*, and 68 in the recently concluded two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
Fans on X came up with mixed reactions to Rahul getting dropped for the second Test versus the Kiwis. One user sarcastically wrote:
"Happy Retirement KL Rahul."
Another user wrote:
"KL RAHUL is always easy SCAPEGOAT."
A third user added:
"Gutted to see KL Rahul left out of the 2nd Test. He’s such a class player and deserves more!"
Here are a few more reactions:
"He has been backed by the team management" - What Gautam Gambhir spoke of KL Rahul ahead of IND vs NZ 2nd Test?
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir said KL Rahul has been backed by team management ahead of the second Test against New Zealand.
He said (via ESPNcricinfo):
"International cricket is all about being judged, to be honest, because everyone's performance will be judged eventually. But I feel that he [Rahul] is batting really well. Obviously, he has had a decent knock in Kanpur [against Bangladesh] obviously, on a difficult wicket. And obviously, he played according to the plans as well."
"And I am sure, I think, he would also be knowing that he wants to score big runs and he has that capability of scoring runs. That's why he has been backed by the team management," he added.
Rahul averages 33.87 in Tests, scoring 2981 runs in 53 games, including eight tons and 15 half-centuries. The middle-order batter has a solitary hundred in home Tests.
Follow the IND vs NZ 2nd Test live score and updates here.