Rahul Dravid backs KL Rahul amid poor form

KL Rahul has been the topic of conversation ever since his below-par performances in Tests. The inclusion of the right-handed opener in the playing XI has been criticised by many former players, including ex-India pacer Venkatesh Prasad. KL Rahul has failed to record anything significant to his credit in the Border-Gavaskar series, scoring merely 38 runs in 2 Tests.

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India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed in the post-match conference that there have been talks about Rahul’s place in the team. “Lately, there has been a lot of talk about Rahul’s batting. As team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL. I have been asked this in the past about a lot of players. If a guy has potential, he will get that extended run,” Sharma said.

Furthermore, India head coach Rahul Dravid has also backed the right-handed opener. In an interview with Star Sports, Dravid reminded critics of KL Rahul’s performances in England and South Africa and called his poor form “just a phase”.

“I think he (Rahul) needs to trust his processes. This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got centuries in South Africa and England, we’ll continue to back him. I believe he has the quality and class to come out of this,” Dravid told Star Sports.

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Earlier, Venkatesh Prasad had slammed the selection committee for persisting with KL Rahul as an opener despite the presence of players like Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan on the sidelines. The former India quick had also alleged that KL Rahul’s selection was based on “favouritism”.

The India opener has been dropped from the vice-captain post. In the squad for the remaining Border-Gavaskar Tests, the tag of VC was not present besides KL Rahul’s name. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made no formal statement regarding the same, but has not named a new vice-captain as well.

In the last 10 innings he played, KL Rahul has recorded an average of 17, with only one 50-plus score. His last Test half-century came during India’s tour of South Africa in January 2022.

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