India vs Australia: KL Rahul walking on thin ice, time running out for opener

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Many experts and foreign cricketers had opted against picking KL Rahul, the Indian vice-captain in the Test format, to feature in the playing eleven of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur. However, against all the odds and in-form batters waiting in the rank, the 30-year-old was picked by the management.

A solid knock from the right-hander might have changed the narrative but sadly that did not happen. He toiled hard in the middle, and just when it looked like he had found his feet - debutant Todd Murphy got him out caught and bold. The dismissal told the story of Rahul's under-confidence. A delivery which was very well on offer for a good drive was played back straight into the hands of the bowler because of the clusters of doubts in his mind. The dismissal screamed of Rahul's poor form, especially in red ball cricket which has continued for a while now.

KL Rahul's worrisome Test numbers

46 Test matches to score 2624 runs at an average of 34.07 is a story in itself. The Karnataka batter for long has been touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, but his numbers are in complete contradiction. We are leaving his repeated failures in major knockout matches across formats for now.

• Since the start of 2019, he has played 13 Test matches to score 728 runs at an average of 30.33.

• In his last 10 innings, he has been dismissed for 20 or less runs six times.

• He hasn't crossed the 30-run mark even once and has scored just one fifty.

• Against Bangladesh in December last year, he registered scored of 2, 10, 23 and 22 in the two Test matches

With the competition increasing and the youngsters raring to leave impact, Rahul's selection has been referred to as favouritism. Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad targeted the team management, commentators for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy among others in a series of tweets after Rahul's 71-ball 20 in the only innings which India played in the Nagpur Test.

"Rahul’s selection is not based on performance but favouritism . Has been Consistently inconsistent and for someone who has been around for 8 years not converted potential into performances. One of the reasons why many ex-cricketers aren’t vocal despite seeing such favouritism is the chances of losing out on potential IPL gigs. They wouldn’t want to rub the captain of a franchise wrong way, as in today’s age most people like yes men and blind approvers. Often well wishers are your best critics but times have changed & people don’t want to be told truth

"And to make matters worse, Rahul is the designated vice-captain. Ashwin has a great cricketing brain, should be the vice captain in the Test format. If not, he should be Pujara or Jadeja. Mayank Agarwal had a far better impact than Rahul in Tests and so did Vihari.

"When there are so many waiting in the wings & in top form. Shubhman Gill is in sublime form,Sarfaraz has been scoring tons in FC cricket and many who deserve a chance ahead of Rahul. Some are just lucky to be given chances endlessly till they succeed while some aren’t allowed to," Venkatesh tweeted.

Notably, Shubman Gill brought up his maiden Test hundred on Bangladesh tour and scored 157 runs at an average of 39.25. The option of allowing Gill to open and trying Rahul in middle-order is also not an easy one. He has opened for most of his career, and has scored 88 runs at an average of 17.60 in the four matches he has batted three. He has batted once at number six, scoring just three runs in it.

Also, with Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav available in the middle-order, playing Rahul ahead of them in the position will give rise to another round of debates and discussions.

There is pressure from players outside the squad as well. Prithvi Shaw has been a rockstar in the domestic circuit and Mayank Agarwal also reminded the selectors of his quality after slamming a double hundred against Saurashtra in the semi-final. The double came at a time when, Karanatak's innings was reeling at 112/5 in the first innings.

Rahul was at once being prepared to take over the white-ball captaincy after Rohit. He is out of that race because of his repeated failures and the magical rise of his very good friend and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. He is still Rohit's deputy in the longest format, however, the narratives and personal stories change fast in cricket. The backings of the biggest superstars have fallen on all fours, and Rahul wouldn't be an exception. He might just have played 169 matches across formats for India since his debut in 2014, but must have matured that much as a player to understand that.