KL Rahul’s form divides opinion, a lot like Ravi Shastri's form through the 1980s and '90s

ALSO READ: Venkatesh Prasad's tweet on K.L. Rahul: What to make of it, and will it change anything?

Vice-captaincy shield

The similarity between Shastri and Rahul does not end there. Both happen to be vice-captain of the Indian squad.

Whenever a question is raised about Rahul’s place in any Indian playing XI, his position as vice-captain comes up as a defence for him retaining his spot.

Yet, Shastri was dropped for slow batting by the then think-tank during the 1992 World Cup despite being the nominated vice-captain. Even much later in 2017-18 in South Africa, India’s designated Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was dropped when Shastri was the head coach.

Formats fumble

Now with three formats taking over the world of international cricket, it is increasingly becoming difficult to keep track of players and their forms. In the case of India, over the past 24 months, Test cricket has not been a priority because of the two T20 World Cups.

Still India has played more Test cricket in this time than has been mandated under the World Test Championship (WTC) rules. Sadly for Rahul, though, the gaps between Test matches have been so long that his form in the longest format has deteriorated.

India played a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in February-March 2022 and then did not have any cricket in whites till the end of the year in Bangladesh, making it roughly nine months between tournaments. Rahul did not play against Sri Lanka, but featured on the South Africa tour. He even captained India in Test cricket for the first time in South Africa in the second Test on that tour. He scored a hundred in the first Test and was one of the heroes of India’s win in that game.

But since that South African tour, everything has gone downhill for Rahul. He suffered a hamstring and groin injury. He missed much of the home season against West Indies and Sri Lanka, but was fit to play the IPL. He led the Lucknow Super Giants in their inaugural season. Then he suffered another injury post IPL and had to miss a lot of cricket till he was airlifted to Zimbabwe to lead a makeshift Indian ODI side. But his form was patchy and it told in the way the balance of the Indian T20I side was affected.

T20 World Cup debacle

The T20 World Cup was a struggle and India’s exit from the semi-final stage affected the stocks of all senior players, including Rahul. But right through the T20 World Cup, Rahul got unqualified support from the team think-tank, especially head coach Rahul Dravid.

"We completely back him. We have no concerns about him. We know that when he gets going, and I have seen it against Australia (during the T20 World Cup warm-up), against a top-class attack just a couple of weeks ago, I know the impact this guy (Rahul) can make. In Rohit (Sharma)'s and my mind, there is absolutely no doubt about who's going to open for us,” said Dravid about Rahul’s form.

Despite the support, Rahul was ‘rested’ for the New Zealand tour that followed, but was back again in Bangladesh as vice-captain.

Snowballing

Yet another injury to regular skipper Rohit Sharma meant that Rahul was leading India in both ODIs and Tests. But it was as clear as daylight that Rahul’s form was going to be a hot topic. India won the first Test against Bangladesh comfortably, but huffed and puffed to claim the second Test. Rahul’s batting struggles were in the spotlight despite the series win.

During the Bangladesh series, he lost his place in the T20I squad and vice-captaincy of the ODI squad for the home season. It seemed as if while the selectors were cracking the whip, the team management was going out of their way to accommodate Rahul in any of the playing XIs.

In the ODIs against Sri Lanka, Rahul kept wickets and batted at five much like in Bangladesh, triggering further debates. But when he was named vice-captain of the Test squad against Australia, everyone was up in arms. What did not help Rahul’s cause was the rise of Shubman Gill in all formats. Gill was making hundreds for fun against New Zealand while Rahul was away for personal reasons.

The rise of Shubman Gill

Gill became the alternative that everyone wanted in the Test XI against Australia in place of Rahul.

Indian think-tank fronted Rahul in front of the hungry media two days before the first Test and they feasted on his misfortune. With Shreyas Iyer out injured with a bad back, Rahul emerged as a candidate to play at number five. He made his Test debut back in 2014-15 in the middle-order. So that was one option in front of the think-tank to get out of the pickle.

“Whatever the team has asked me to do, I try to prepare that way and try to do my best for the team, and if that is something that the team wants me to do here, I’ll be more than happy to do it,” said Rahul about batting in the middle-order.

Gill had already displaced another veteran Shikhar Dhawan from the ODI squad. The team management was clearly conflicted. They picked Rahul for the first Test and hoped that their vice-captain would shut everyone up with the bat.

"I've been watching Gill and Rahul very closely in the nets. If it's a hard call; when I see footwork, when I see timing as to who is batting better. If it has to be Shubman ahead of Rahul, so be it. You know, straight. You have to see that. I won't say that Rahul is the vice-captain so he becomes the automatic choice," said Shastri about his protégé’s selection to the ICC’s Review Show.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Rahul looked fidgety during his knock of 20 in the first Test of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and became debutant Todd Murphy’s first-ever Test victim. It confirmed to everyone that Rahul was skating on thin ice.

"To be fair to KL, the last 10 Test innings that he has played, he has a couple of hundreds and a couple of fifties. He has a hundred in South Africa, in England. I don't think we are there yet (a discussion on his spot in the playing XI),” said India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour when asked about Rahul on the second day of the Nagpur Test.

The problem, however, with statistics is that it does not tell you the whole truth. Since that hundred in the first Test at Centurion, South Africa in late 2021, these have been Rahul’s scores in the last 10 innings: 23, 50, 8, 12, 10, 22, 23, 10, 2 and 20.

India’s comprehensive win at Nagpur may have papered over the cracks for now, but the selectors and team management may have to take a hard call very soon. The second Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on February 17.

But before that former India paceman Venkatesh Prasad fired a barb which was hard to ignore.

Venkatesh Prasad calls it

This was unusual coming from a Bangalore man against his fellow city boy and that too indirectly aimed at another man from the city, the great Dravid, the current Indian head coach.

All this has led to more commentary around Rahul and his batting spot.

"I feel the way he has batted in the last 1-2 years; he has performed well. I feel he should be given one more chance. I am sure he will be backed for the Test match in Delhi. After that you can give it a thought because you have an in-form batter ready to replace him, Shubman Gill," said former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar on India Today.

Gavaskar’s former teammate Madan Lal, another member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad also backed Rahul to retain his place for the second Test.

"He should definitely get a chance. Even when Vikram Rathour came to the press conference, he reminded everyone that he scored a century in South Africa. He does have the ability, but he has been out of form lately. Scoring against Australia is a big challenge in itself, and getting those runs gives a morale boost. But he can be stuck here. However, based on his ability, he should get another chance," Madan Lal said in an interview.

It is, however, clear that Rahul’s place is coming under increasing threat from Gill. This season alone Gill’s stock has risen so dramatically that former India players like Harbhajan Singh have clearly thrown their weight behind the Punjab boy.

“When we played cricket, we used to say a man in form is important. In today's time, no one is playing better than him. Everyone is playing well but he (Gill) is a bit better. There is a huge difference between him (Gill) now and him around one year back. He is getting mature with time and if he does not play now, he may lose out the chance to become a superstar and just remain a star,” said former India captain Kapil Dev in an interview.

Horses for courses

In his nine-year international career, Rahul has had a mixed bag. He has had his fair share of injuries, surgeries and of course lack of form as well. He shows sparks with the bat sometimes which appears to make him part of the elite in Indian cricket, but then he can also come crashing down like he did in Nagpur in the first Test against Australia.

Nothing divides Indian cricket as easily as Rahul does currently and unfortunately for him there are claimants for his role in every format!

The last word rests with India captain Rohit Sharma who sent out a veiled message to everyone, especially Rahul.

“Message to the boys is very clear. We are ready to play horses for courses. Whichever pitch we need, we have to bring them in. As simple as that. That is something we have spoken to the guys about. We will have to assess conditions and see who are the right guys, so we are quite open with all options," said Sharma ahead of the first Test.

So, buckle up Rahul, the road ahead is bumpy for you!