The only opener to score a century in SEA countries
You would be surprised to know that none of India’s openers have scored a century in South Africa, England and Australia. Everyone knows how the Dukes and Kookaburra balls swing and seam. Under a cloudy sky, only an artist can score a century on a shiny grassy wicket. This is the reason why batsmen value their centuries abroad. Sachin Tendulkar still considers his 116 in Perth as his best as it came on a pitch perfect for the fast bowling army. Graham Gooch rated his centuries against the West Indies pacers higher than his triple century against India.
Rahul’s condition should not be like Murali Vijay
Seeing Rahul’s condition, one also remembers Murli Vijay, who took retirement recently. Murali, who was a consistent run-scorer on difficult pitches like in England and Australia, was sent home after just eight poor innings. His career is over. Rahul should also be given concession for injuries. He was injured many times in his short career. Injured during IPL. Left thigh strain ahead of New Zealand series. An upper left hamstring strain, which kept him out of the series against Sri Lanka, and a blow to his arm ruled him out of the T20 Internationals against South Africa. Earlier, he had a shoulder operation apart from fever and flu. Had it done
time invested on rahul
Fans can’t even digest being heartless on KL Rahul. After one or two bad performances, the same fans become your enemies, who do not get tired of applauding the last century. After recovering from injury, Rahul has batted just five times. This is a very short period of time to drop a player in whom you have invested time. After his return, he didn’t even look troubled in any innings. Faced an average of 59 balls. He was batting well in Nagpur as well. Was leaving the difficult balls well. Was enjoying his batting. Perhaps, he could have been more careful.
Shubman Gill’s time will also come
The team management will not wait an eternity for KL Rahul to strike form. Successive failures will force a rethink and the selectors will no longer hold back the talented Shubman Gill, but between then and now, Rahul will have to fight for his survival. But there is equally truth in the fact that Rahul has dominated the opening as well as every position where he got a chance. Before the Delhi Test, coach Dravid and captain Rohit kept a constant eye on Rahul’s batting and kept discussing. Shubman, who has scored a flurry of centuries in the last few limited-overs series, also reached the nets and looked very comfortable batting.