When Lokesh Rahul made his Test debut for India at the Boxing Day Test in 2014 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), he had everyone on the edge of their seat.
He appeared to be a young man in a hurry to get out. He tried every possible shot in the book and was too eager to show that he belongs to the big stage. He made his Test debut at the number six slot and has since moved through the order like a yo-yo – never quite certain of his position in any format.
Then in his very second Test, Rahul struck a hundred and showed the world that he belonged to the big stage. But since that New Year of 2015, KL Rahul has been an enigma that no one has been able to solve or understand in Indian cricket.
Confusion, Confusion
In the first year of his international career, it looked like he had replaced Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order in Tests. Then as is his wont, he got injured and went out again. He was not even considered an ODI batsman and was played purely in Tests.
All this left Rahul confused about his place in the side, which did no good to his confidence. He has therefore had a chequered career thus far in all formats, and has at times flattered to deceive. When he struck a hundred in the T20I series last year in England, it appeared as if he had arrived in the shortest format, but then he fell short again.
It has become almost a tragedy of sorts because the talent is visible for all to see.
No Definite Role
The team management has not helped either, failing to define his role in any of the three formats.
Let’s look at Tests first. With Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan out of favour, it was assumed Rahul would be India’s first choice opener. But instead, he struggled for form in Australia and was in fact dropped from the XI. The man replacing him on that Australia tour for the Test leg, Mayank Agarwal, is also one of Rahul’s closest friends in life. Now, the same friend – who is being flown in to England for the ICC World Cup – will possibly replace Rahul at the top of the order in another format, ODIs. All this is bound to leave a man insecure.
Changed Scenario
Rahul who travelled with the India’s World Cup squad on 22 May this year, was meant to be the reserve opener for the squad. And then it all changed, again!
He scored a 108 in the warm-up game against Bangladesh at the dreaded number four slot and it got the think-tank to change their mindset again. Now, Rahul who was meant to play only if one of the openers failed or got injured, would have to play in the middle-order.
He then started off at number four, dropped down further against Australia, before his role changed again! This time, thanks to Dhawan. Rahul is now back at the top of the order. This constant jump and shift throughout the order is indicative of the muddle that has been created over the last four years in the ODI squad.
Rahul should have been given a role long back, but the team management prefers to keep everyone guessing.
Rahul was never in the running for a place in the ODI middle-order. The names that had been tried were Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar et al.
What’s the Role?
It was almost as if the Indian team’s think tank wanted to keep Rahul guessing about what they were thinking. Last year in South Africa for example, Rahul was dropped from the ODI squad, sent back home, but was then drafted for the T20I series.
So Rahul played Tests, then went home for ODIs and then came back for the T20Is.
No other player has been treated as unfairly as Rahul has been over the past four years.
To his credit, each time that Rahul has been back he has shown some spark before he fades away. He now has two hundreds in T20Is, one in ODIs and five in Tests. He could well be the third Indian player to play all three formats, behind Jasprit Bumrah and captain Virat Kohli. Only, he has to stop looking behind his shoulder about who may replace him or when the next match will come his way.
Just look at this World Cup, he already has two half-centuries to his credit and he could well be kicking himself for not going onto score a hundred against Bangladesh on Tuesday, 2 July. But it all goes down to confidence and that came out most in the mid-innings interview. He just does not know how he can convert his scores into big ODI hundreds like Rohit Sharma and Kohli. He has shown in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that he can score big runs with the added responsibility of wicketkeeping too. So there is a template for him to follow.
Tough Year
This year has been particularly trying for Rahul following his appearance on the Koffee With Karan talk show with Hardik Pandya. His ban post the interview dented his confidence, but he can only learn from that episode.
Only thing that he has to learn first is to remain fit. No other player has had as many freak injuries as Rahul in his short career. Each time it appears like Rahul is establishing himself, he gets injured and the team management applies finishing touches by confusing him about his place.
Now with a plain canvas, there is an excellent opportunity for Rahul to cement his place in all formats because spots will open up post World Cup. Of course, the arrival of his best friend Mayank does not help matters. But then again, he can only keep scoring runs and leave the worrying to others.
(Chandresh Narayanan is a former cricket writer with The Times of India, The Indian Express, ex-Media Officer for ICC and the Delhi Daredevils. He is also the author of World Cup Heroes, Cricket Editorial consultant, professor and cricket TV commentator.)
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