Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach, declared that the team is not ready to replace KL Rahul in the Playing XI yet. He emphasized that Rahul’s spot is secure for now.
Rathour cited KL Rahul’s previous performances
KL Rahul’s batting performance has been lacking for the past year, causing discussions among fans and experts about his place in India’s playing XI. Recently, Rahul returned to the team after missing the New Zealand series, but he did not perform well in the Nagpur Test against Australia. He appeared to be underconfident, scoring only 20 off 71 in his first innings before getting out.
Despite Rahul’s recent struggles, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour remains confident in his abilities. He pointed to Rahul’s successful innings in the past, including hundreds in South Africa and England, as evidence that he will bounce back.
“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 (on his spot in the playing XI),”
Rathour said in the press conference after stumps on Day 2 in Nagpur.
Previously, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh suggested that KL could have scored more runs if he had approached batting with more aggression during the final session of Day 1 of the first Test.
“KL Rahul would be disappointed as he was taking more time. I believe if he could have kept an attacking approach, then he could have scored more. I hope in the second innings if he gets the chance to bat, he will score some runs for his own confidence,”
Harbhajan said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
On Day 2, India ended the day at 321/7 with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel both still at the crease, scoring 66* and 52* respectively. This came after India’s captain Rohit Sharma hit his ninth Test hundred.
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