Breaching the pain barrier is not just a metaphor in the case of KL Rahul. Pain, not just in the physical form, but from being subjected to all kinds of innuendo, slurs, and mental pressure –
the man from Bengaluru has seen it all.
On Diwali evening, one saw a new Rahul. Like the firecracker called the atom bomb, which creates a loud noise, Rahul was in turbo-charged mode, revved up and batting with a ferocity seldom seen before.
The way he blasted 102 runs suggested a new avatar. Was he not the same man who was referred to as dull and dour? He was never a graduate of the Virender Sehwag school of Indian batting, in terms of stroke production and scoring rate. On Diwali day, there was a bit of a sparkler effect at first and then the whiz-thud stuff as he treated the audience at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to a delightful treat.
He hammered his runs, which included 11 fours and four sixes. This was indeed a revelation from a batter who has sometimes been accused of not playing enough big shots. If expression had to take form like a painter at work on the canvas, Rahul was bold, bright and beautiful. To use numbers alone to describe his innings would be injustice.
His knock was top-drawer stuff. So what if it was against the Netherlands? Rahul knew he had to do something special, for the gap between potential and performance had to be bridged. Like the Rahul who now watches him from the dressing room, with the Dravid surname, he is a selfless cricketer. They have served Indian cricket as needed, with being allowed the comfort of a specialist role.
Dravid was thrust into the wicketkeeper-batter role under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy. As for Rahul, he has been shuffled up and down the batting order like the pawn in the old snakes-and-ladders game. From opener to No. 5, in this World Cup, he has had to adjust to multiple scenarios. At a time when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have scored runs at breakneck speed, Rahul has mostly been tasked with being composed and sedate.
On Sunday, he was a new man, a new batter. Was he trying to prove a point? Maybe, yes, since he has been subject to a lot of criticism that was not par for the course. After all, to be an Indian cricketer is not easy. Such are the expectations from fans and critics to peak on a daily basis. That is impossible, whatever the sport. If Sergei Bubka had raised the bar at every pole-vault meet he competed in, that would have been boring. If Usain Bolt had to scorch 100 metres of synthetic track at every opportunity, he would have gone insane.
All that was accepted by fans, but in Indian cricket, one has to keep delivering. Maybe, if there is a cricketer ready for any challenge, that is Rahul, influenced perhaps by Dravid, who did the same in a previous generation. Viewed from beyond the boundary, all this looked so easy, launching sixes and scoring so crisply. It had taken him time, with each batting role being so different. That India has done extremely well in the World Cup and Rahul has been able to articulate himself is a beautiful thing.
He is a key person in the side, living up to the billing as a solid wicketkeeper, and playing an important role in helping Rohit Sharma, the captain, to take the DRS (Decision Review System) calls.
It wasn’t long ago that Rahul was stripped of the vice-captaincy. Once Hardik Pandya hobbled out of the side with an ankle injury, Rahul was again elevated to the role. Anyone else would have a sarcastic laugh at being dumped and then promoted like this. But then, KL, as people address him, has learned to accept life as it comes.
For him, ups and downs have been an integral part of his career. At 31, he is at his peak after missing the fag end of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ICC World Test Championship final. Coming back from that IPL injury was a challenge. He was short of match practice, but the Indian cricket think-tank backed him to the hilt. The results are now there to see. He has truly blossomed, and there are surely more chapters to be written in his story.