What's next for KL Rahul?
On October 29, Ambati Rayudu played a solid knock of 100 off 80 balls in the 4th ODI which has surely impressed captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma. The Hyderabadi lad who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL played one of those knocks that could certainly cement his place at number four position for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Now with the opening pair and the middle order set-up nicely there is a balance in the team, atleast on paper it surely is. Rayudu's knock has definitely affected others who were eyeing for that middle order spot.
The way Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have played since 2013, there is absolutely no worrying sign for Indian cricket in terms of scoring big and even during chases. They have taken their game to another level. The fact that the Mumbai-Delhi batting duo has been the 2nd most successful pair in ODI history for India in terms of runs amassed shows you the impact they have had on Indian cricket for the past 6 years. The right & left-handed batting combination of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have played fearlessly despite of the challenges overseas and they have surely come out with flying colors in almost every big games.
When it comes to number three position there is not much to say because the man who owns that position is the greatest batsman of this generation. The man who is certainly an alien amidst humans.
But to be frank; Indian cricket team haven't found a proper middle order batting line-up since 2011 world cup. There have been many attempts to fill those position especially of that of Yuvraj Singh, but we certainly witnessed the repercussions of that during the 2015 cricket world cup. There is no certainty in the middle order especially with former skipper MS Dhoni being out of form for almost a year, and with Yuvraj and Raina at the twilight end of their career.
After 2015, India have tried with many players in the middle order among which the Karnataka lads Manish Pandey and KL Rahul have been part off. Though Manish Pandey could say he didn't get a lot of opportunities, but there is no denying the fact that he has no moral rights to claim for the position with some unspectacular performances in both IPL and domestic cricket on the basis of which the selection is done for the Indian team.
KL Rahul, the man who was believed to be the next big thing in Indian cricket hasn't been able to justify the tag since his ODI debut. Sourav Ganguly other day was said, that "the inclusion of KL Rahul is a must in the present Indian team". Unlike other players, KL Rahul has been the closest to Virat Kohli ever since KL became a member of RCB where their bromance is literally believed to have blossomed. And as always being close to captain comes with certain benefits and Kohli surely didn't mince his words when it came to justifying his mate's selection.
Within 13 matches KL has played, mostly at number four position, for a player of such high talent K L Rahul has only been able to score 317 runs at an average just above 35 and striking at 80 which doesn't justify his selection in the team at all. In the ongoing ODI series, he has not been picked in any of the game and that has certainly resulted in Rayudu stealing his place.
If KL Rahul has to play in the final 11, then there must be some kind of miracle waiting to happen. Since Rayudu is looking in top form scoring at a brisk pace and carrying the responsibility of middle order has led to the ringing of alarm bells in Karnataka batsman'ss house. Rahul's underperformance in the recently ended England ODI series can only add more hindrance in captain selecting him in final eleven for 2019 CWC matches.
For a player who has impressed everyone in Indian cricket circuit with his classy and elegant batting performances in IPL, this certainly has become a hard pill to swallow. If there is an opportunity in the coming tours of Australia it will surely prove to be his acid test and may well result in selectors taking a decisive action on his career. Only time will tell whether India goes on with Rayudu or will Konnanuru Lokesh Rahul bounce back before the all-important cricket world cup in 2019.