IND VS AUS: This is a last chance for KL Rahul?

KL Rahul

KL Rahul has played 11 Test innings as the opener since January 2022, and only once of those instances resulted in him being struck out before ten deliveries were delivered. That statistic appears to be good enough for an opener, don't you think? However, the vice-captain of India faces difficulties because in those 11 innings, he only once managed to score 50 runs or more. His final Test century came in December 2021 against South Africa, the first Test of the series that gave India the lead. However, India lost the next two games and eventually lost the series. There was increasing demand for Shubman Gill, who seized opportunities whenever he was asked to step in for Rohit Sharma or Rahul, to be included in

Rahul has the lowest batting average among openers globally for players with at least five matches since January 2022, averaging just 17.40. Rahul's suffering becomes an even more depressing tale if we expand that search to include the top 7. Since 2022, among batters who bat in the top 7, he has the fifth-lowest average. It now only boils down to appearances whether the vice-captain keeps his position. Why would you fire your vice captain?

Ajinkya Rahane, however, was recently dropped by India from their vice-captaincy at Newlands in 2018. Rahane dropped due to the tough time he was going through. Will India make the risky decision to fire Rahul? Rahul has a career average of 33.85 despite taking some significant hits in difficult circumstances. However, 17.40 will be difficult to miss.

Rahul is not enduring a constant struggle like David Warner. Rahul is making a lot of effort. To prepare for his inning, he is playing deliveries. At Nagpur, he faced 71 deliveries for his 20 runs, and in all honesty, aside from the occasional misbehaving delivery that landed on a particular patch, Rahul appeared unhurried. However, Rahul erred by misjudging a tossed-up delivery, and he gave Todd Murphy the opportunity to catch it back. He had previously played against Bangladesh in Mirpur and Chattogram, facing 45, 62, and 54. However, the total number of runs was only 55. In the following four innings against South Africa, after subtracting his initial 123 off 260 balls, he faced 74, 133, 21, 35, and 22 deliveries to add 103.

Rahul batted for 41 deliveries during the opening day's final session in Delhi and appeared to be hiding most of the time. On Day 2, he danced to Matthew Kuhnemann and launched himself one or more rows back at the Pavilion End with a silken touch and power in equal measure. Prior to being pinned in front by Nathan Lyon with a delivery that slightly straightened, that was Rahul's only attempt at a boundary during his stay.

The issue is not just that Rahul is struggling. Even at home, Rahul's poor performance at the top cannot be concealed by the top order's ability to consistently perform well. The controversy is centred on the bowlers and spinners in general because they have been completely destroying the opposition to pack them in, but the batters have not really stepped up to the plate.

After a strong bowling effort, India found themselves at Nagpur 168/5 before the lower-order all-rounders contributed. Before Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel steadied the ship, it was swaying at 139/7 here in Delhi. Only Rohit Sharma has an average over 40 since 2022 among India's top 4 players. Rahul's score is 17.40, Pujara's is 37.81, Kohli's is 26.75, and Mayank Agarwal's is 18.57. Pujara has been having trouble. Gill has only participated in three games during this time, but despite having an average slightly below 30, his name is being brought up because of his performance in various formats. Gill has had some of the worst stretches one could imagine, but he has so far performed well as an opener, scoring 689 runs in 13 games at an average of 102.

Rahul still has one more opportunity to prove his value in Delhi, and it appears that India will bat again, so all is not yet lost. Rahul would be aware that Gill would push his way in if that occurred, so he would need to make the most of his time there. For Rahul, the long rope still has one more inning before it is severed.