"That wasn't just in Chennai, but in this year’s Duleep Trophy too" - Unnamed BCCI official on KL Rahul going into a shell with the bat on Test return
A BCCI official recently criticized KL Rahul's comeback in red-ball cricket, looking at his performances from the first test against Bangladesh. Rahul was slotted straightaway into the middle order over Sarfaraz Khan upon his return. However, the batter could only score 16 runs off 52 deliveries in the first innings before being dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
The knock was labelled as 'one without any purpose' by former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. KL Rahul's intent has recently been questioned, mostly while playing as an opener in white-ball cricket, but the issue has now spread to the longest format as well.
In the second innings, he fared much better while batting with a positive approach. He scored an unbeaten 22 runs off 19 deliveries before Rohit Sharma chose to declare the innings.
Prior to the Bangladesh Test, KL Rahul was among the several high-profile players to feature in the Duleep Trophy. Representing India A in the tournament, he scored 37 and 57 in the first and second innings respectively during their 76-run loss to India B. He spent considerable time at the crease, playing out 232 deliveries in total.
An unnamed BCCI official recently talked about KL Rahul's approach, saying he was going in a shell in his recent red-ball knocks.
"That was not just in Chennai, but in this year’s Duleep Trophy too,” a BCCI official told The Telegraph.
However, his recent displays have earned a nod of encouragement from former India player Sunil Joshi, who felt that Rahul constructed an innings while trying to get a hold of the conditions.
“In the Duleep game too, Rahul looked to construct the innings and it was a challenge for him against some good fast bowlers on a seaming wicket. He looked calm and cool and played to the merit of the ball. Intent-wise, he was perfect,” Sunil Joshi, who coached India A in the Duleep Trophy, told The Telegraph.
"His numbers in Tests abroad speak for themselves. He just needs to spend more time at the crease which will lead to runs, whoever the opposition is, because he has every shot in his armoury. He needs to consume more number of balls just to feel the red-ball intent because red-ball cricket is played session-wise,” Joshi added
KL Rahul has been featuring as a pure batter of late in the middle order. He made an instant impression upon his return to the newfound position, recording a hundred against South Africa in December last year. However, he soon sustained an injury, forcing him to be ruled out of the majority of the home series against England.
KL Rahul faces stiff competition in the middle-order department
KL Rahul is on thin ice when it comes to his spot in the red-ball side, after Sarfaraz Khan impressed in his maiden set of outings for the national side. Additionally, the likes of Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal have made a good case with their displays in the middle order in recent times. As a result, India are not short of options.
With Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel likely to feature in the upcoming Irani Cup clash, Rahul could get another shot in the middle-order during the second Test against Bangladesh. The match is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 27, in Kanpur.