Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru
There are concerns over the participation of Rishabh Pant in the second Test against New Zealand. In the match to take place in Pune from October 24, there is no doubt about the absence of someone else, who has also handled wicket-keeping responsibilities for India. If Shubhman Gill recovers from a stiff neck, Sarfaraz Khan will retain his place in the XI at the expense of KL Rahul.
This doesn’t cast a long-term shadow on Rahul’s future. Neither does it make him uncertain for the Australia tour. What it ensures is he will not add to his number of Test caps in the remainder of this three-match series. Unless, of course, in unforeseen circumstances.
From Rahul’s point of view, this isn’t the best of plots. Having belted a Test century while also donning the big gloves in South Africa last December, he was not doing badly at No. 6. This is not his natural position and yet, in the only Test he played against England earlier this year, he made 86 and 22. Rahul wasn’t a failure in the recent Bangladesh series either.
Irrespective of that, if the team management doesn’t hand him back the duty behind the stumps — which is unlikely — the player who has taken part in 53 Tests will lose out to someone with the experience of four. Sarfaraz has muscled his way in with that 150 in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Rahul couldn’t rise to the occasion when the team needed him.
Rahul, who has a pleasing style of play and centuries in Australia, England and South Africa, performed starkly in contrast to his immediate competitor. It was their first Test together. Both were out without scoring in the first-innings of 46 all out. Sarfaraz redeemed himself in the second, while Rahul failed when it came to build on the fourth-wicket partnership.
That made the difference between a thin lead like 106 and something more challenging. Rahul was the last specialist batter. The five before him had all got starts. It was crucial from the team’s point of view for him to stick around after Sarfaraz and Pant. India needed two partnerships of 35-40 each to reach a stronger position. Considering Rahul’s role in the team, his dismissal for 12 off a sharp one from William O’Rourke made a big difference.
This is not to undermine his potential. That’s why he is persisted with despite having an average below 35. This reflects inconsistency. Failure with such figures, even to a good delivery, becomes prominent in situations when the fate of the team is dependent on a player during a particular passage of play. Class not in question, it’s steel that Rahul is found short of.
When a player’s Test average is 33.87 over a span of 10 years, then it’s clear that he has failed to live up to his potential.
Having said this, there is no reason to link this possible exclusion from the XI to the selection of the squad for Australia. That’s a different story and this is only for the two Tests against New Zealand. Sarfaraz is untested abroad and Rahul has made runs in most of the countries he has been to. For the moment though, the 32-year-old has to go back to the bench, and probably to the drawing board.
IND vs NZ | Day 5: New Zealand only needs 107 runs to win but will rain play spoilsport? https://t.co/p89Q22v0td
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 20, 2024
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