IND vs AUS: KL Rahul to be Dropped? – With each passing failure of KL Rahul in Test cricket, experts are losing patience. After Kapil Dev, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad has slammed the selection committee on Rahul ‘Favouritism’. Rahul has scored only one fifty in his last nine Test innings and is still in the team despite Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan knocking on the doors with performances. Worst Rahul is also the vice-captain of the team. Prasad feels Ravi Ashwin and Pujara are better candidates for vice-captaincy. Follow IND vs AUS Live Updates with InsideSport.IN.
I have a lot of regard for KL Rahul’s talent and ability, but sadly his performances have been well below par. A test average of 34 after 46 tests and more than 8 years in international cricket is ordinary. Can’t think of many who have been given so many chances. Especially..cont
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) February 11, 2023
IND vs AUS: Ex-cricketer Venkatesh Prasad slams SELECTION committee on KL Rahul ‘favoritism’, says ‘Pujara, Ashwin better candidate for vice-captaincy’
IND vs AUS: Why selectors are backing Rahul so much?
- Rahul is the vice-captain of the Test team, the selection committee has marked him as a successor to Rohit Sharma.
- The selection committee believes he can take the Test team forward owing to the cool and composed leadership technique he displayed during his short captaincy stint in ODIs, Test cricket.
- Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid also believe in continuity more rather than chopping and changing.
- The selection committee also feels KL Rahul will bounce back in Test cricket.
IND vs AUS: Will Rahul ever be dropped from the Test team despite being vice-captain?
A BCCI selector has made it pretty clear that Rahul can be dropped despite being the vice-captain of the Test team. “Who said there is vice-captain’s immunity? There is no rule that the vice-captain cannot be dropped. Rahul for sure is one of the candidates for future Test captaincy but when there are in-form players on the bench, nobody is expendable,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
Since his century in Centurion, KL Rahul has endured a poor run of form in Tests. While his poor form is visible in all three formats, Shubman Gill phenomenon has put his place in jeopardy. Gill has been in terrific form and considering Rahul has scored just 137 runs in 8 innings since 2022, he is now running out of time.
Rahul’s average has fallen to 17.12 excluding the 20-run innings against Australia in the first innings of the Nagpur Test. In these 9 innings, Rahul has scored just one 50. That half-century was the last 30+ score for Rahul.
KL Rahul since his last century:
- 50 vs South Africa
- 8 vs South Africa
- 12 vs South Africa
- 10 vs South Africa
- 22 vs Bangladesh
- 23 vs Bangladesh
- 10 vs Bangladesh
- 2 vs Bangladesh
- 20 vs Australia
Will Rahul be dropped for the Delhi Test?
· Seems a bit unlikely as apart from Rahul, the rest of the batters also struggled in the Nagpur pitch.
· Dravid and Rohit Sharma might play Rahul in the Delhi Test and then take a call.
· If Rahul yet again botches up his chance in the second Test, Gill would be given a go-ahead.
· The Gujarat Titans opener is scintillating form across formats for India notching up centuries for fun.
IND vs AUS: Ex-cricketer Venkatesh Prasad slams SELECTION committee on KL Rahul ‘favoritism’, says ‘Pujara, Ashwin better candidate for vice-captaincy’
Editors pick
