(Cricket news) KL Rahul left for South Africa on Tuesday night, where he will captain the Indian squad in three One-Day Internationals and play in two Test matches against the Proteas. Rahul’s career has undergone a dramatic change as he assumes a larger position as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Although calling this KL Rahul 2.0 may be overly optimistic, it is clear that the opener KL Rahul era is about to end. This is the beginning of a new chapter in Rahul’s cricket career.
It is looking more and more likely that he will take up wicketkeeping responsibilities in Test matches in addition to handling the gloves in the three One-Day Internationals. Ishan Kishan deserves a berth in the 16-man roster, but Rahul, like he has been doing in ODIs for some time, is expected to be favored over Ishan for wicketkeeping, according to insider information.
In the next few months, especially in the two Test matches against South Africa, the five Test matches against England that follow, and the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, a lot will be watched as he develops into a middle-order batsman. It so happened that he had opened the innings in the last Test he played, which was in New Delhi against Australia.
Rahul is clearly motivated to establish himself as a middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper. In Test matches, a middle-order spot may seem like the best place for a batter to be once they don the keeping gloves, but he is aiming to improve his strike-rate to suit the new role in all forms. Rahul is anticipated to play in the middle order, even for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, where he has mostly opened the innings.
The Indian team’s progress is known to a source, who says, “He wants to evolve himself as a middle-order batsman across formats and establish himself there.” Rahul has spent most of his nine-year international career as an opener (he opened in 44 Tests, 23 ODIs, and 55 T20Is for India). However, he is allegedly serious about this change and intends to concentrate entirely on the middle-order role. It makes sense that his recent success in the ODI format, especially in the Asia Cup and the World Cup, when he amassed an astounding 452 runs at an average of more than 75 in 10 games, has encouraged him.
Motivated by his middle-order successes, Rahul is rumored to have had conversations with chief selector Ajit Agarkar as well as the team administration, which includes coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. Getting a middle-order slot in all formats—including Twenty20 Internationals, where he has lost his spot—is the main goal. According to those aware of the conversations, Rahul seems committed to winning back his Twenty20 international spot for the next Twenty20 World Cup.
While Rahul has been an opener for his teams in the IPL historically, he has looked into playing middle order for the Lucknow Super Giants. There have been talks of a possible move to the middle order because the Lucknow Super Giants feature Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, and new acquisition Devdutt Padikkal—all of whom are known openers.
Also read: Markram and Shamsi”s middle-over spells became turning point, feels Tilak Varma
