Why Is KL Rahul Struggling?

Indian batsman, KL Rahul’s name has been buzzing in every cricket fan’s conversation these days, but not for reasons he would have preferred. The right-handed batter has been out of form for more than a year now and has set the internet ablaze with a streak of low scores.  

It’s not that KL has not shown any signs of form whatsoever. What has hurt the fans, even more, is that despite having the skills, and class, KL has not been able to deliver to his maximum capacity. The 30-year-old LSG skipper has shown glimmers of form here and there but has not been able to convert those into big scores on most occasions. 

India has played a lot of cricket in the last 12-15 months, and that too, in all three formats. When the formats switched quickly, the already out-of-form KL found it hard to adjust with the changing formats of the game. Whenever he arrives at the crease, he looks very unsettled and hurried. When you watch him bat closely, you’d feel that he is probably thinking too much. What fans admired the most about Rahul’s batting was his textbook approach, and the ability to produce multiple shots for the same delivery. However, it seems that this once profound ability has now turned into the batter’s worst foe. Whenever he attempts a shot, Rahul looks rather confused and thus gets out owing to that confusion. Nonetheless, whenever Rahul has spent some time at the crease and has allowed himself to settle in, he has looked good. One such game was the second test match against Bangladesh, where the entire team succumbed to the Bangladeshi attack, but Rahul put in a decent partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin to sail India home. 

Rahul is a senior member of the team, be it in any format. When Rohit was made captain after Virat surrendered his captaincy interest, Rahul was trusted by the team management to be the second in command. However, he was recently sacked as vice-captain by the team management because of his poor run. The team management decided to go with the ‘no vice-captain’ approach, which clearly hints that they are not happy with his performance, but don’t want to send a negative message out to the fans. Reports have also stated that Rahul might be replaced by the in-form Shubman Gill, who seems to be having the time of his life with the bat. 

However, the internet seems to be divided into two factions. One believes that the team management should trust KL more, and give him more opportunities. The other believes that KL could use a little break from international cricket and may use the time to find his form back in domestic cricket. Former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik spoke about KL in an interview and said, “KL Rahul is a world-class player and is very good in all formats. At this point, I don’t think it’s the technique, it’s what is happening between the ears. He might need some time away from the game. Come back fresh for the ODIs.” .” 

There’s a report that says that the team management has shown interest in KL playing in the Irani Cup. On the contrary, Rahul has been adequately backed up by the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, and the head coach Rahul Dravid. 

In a recent interview, Dravid said, “I think he needs to trust his processes. This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got hundreds in South Africa and England, we’ll continue to back him. I believe he has the quality and class to come out of this. It is great working with this unit, managing formats is the most difficult part. But there’s not a lot of technical coaching, just simple conversations and challenging them, and giving them a pat on the back when they do well.”

India leads the Border Gavaskar trophy 2-0 and may not want to change the winning combination. However, the team management would also be keen on giving youngsters a good amount of chances before India approaches the World Test Championship final.

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