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This tale has so many unexpected turns of events that
it leaves no space for hypothetical scenarios. We have to weed out the KL Rahul
parts at this point since it is too frenetic to even try to retell.
It was England’s summer of 2021. Almost two years
after his last Test match, Rahul was back in the squad due to an injury to
Shubman Gill. He was essentially used as a backup hitter, most likely only
chosen because of his versatility in covering multiple positions. But on the
eve of the opening Test, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul’s close buddy and the current
opener, was hurt by a delivery from Mohammed Siraj.
It brought together two hitters still trying to find
their feet in Test cricket, Rahul and Rohit Sharma, against the new ball in
what should have been their kryptonite conditions—the hardest time to play in
England. Throughout the series, the two demonstrated their ability to leave the
ball in challenging situations. In that series, India’s opening batsmen scored
784 runs between them, ranking in the top 10 for a touring team to England.
Rahul became only the second opener from Asia to
accomplish this feat since South Africa’s readmission when he recovered from an
injury later that year and finished the set of hundreds in Australia, England,
and South Africa. He went on to captain India in the following year.
Still, Rahul was left off the team two Tests after
taking the captaincy and six after scoring an incredible century in South
Africa. At the time, with their incessant concentration on obtaining 20 wickets
by playing an additional bowler, it looked a horses-for-courses situation in a
side that had room for only five batters. Rahul, meanwhile, had hurt himself
during the IPL and was running out of time to make it to the World Cup by the
time the course was altered. Where was the room for Rahul while Yashasvi Jaiswal
made his debut and got a century, and Gill dropped to No. 3?
Now that we are back at Centurion, the location of
Rahul’s century, the most likely route for him to make the starting eleven is
to assume wicketkeeping responsibilities, even though he has only ever started
one first-class match in that role. It might also mean that, in his 47 Test
career, he will only bat in the middle order twice. After holding wicket for an
entire Test innings, it not only doesn’t disturb the top three, but it also
gives him a little respite.
This arrangement can be viewed in two different ways,
and both are valid. Let me start by highlighting the sacrifice Rahul, without
Rishabh Pant, is making for the team. that he is always prepared and eager to
help the team out. It is understandable that a hitter with his calibre of skill
and ability would have to double up to represent India.
Not to be disrespectful, but after 47 Tests, Rahul
also averages 33.44. Therefore, even if a century every seven Tests may not be
enough to please everyone, given the circumstances he has played in, he has
only marginally outperformed the typical opener.
Previous arguments have suggested that Rahul’s switch
to a more cautious style of T20 cricket may have improved his Test results when
he returned in 2021.
Even though Rahul is only 31 years old, it won’t be
fair to say that he is too excellent to stick to just one or two formats at
this point. He isn’t quite in the same league as Kohli, though, as he hasn’t
mastered two of them for as long. Rahul, who is currently ranked among the top
players in the world in the ODI middle order, will look to demonstrate his
ability to learn two of them simultaneously beginning with the most recent
chapter of Centurion.