More than India’s mighty win, the Border-Gavaskar series being retained for the fourth-successive time and the hosts inching closer to World Test Championship final, the topic that kept social media abuzz on Sunday was KL Rahul’s form and his place in the Indian Test squad. India head coach Rahul Dravid eventually gave his verdict on Rahul’s lean patch after captain Rohit Sharma revealed that “there have been talks within the team”.
Rahul was dismissed for just 1 run in the second innings of the New Delhi Test, taking his tally to 38 runs in three innings in the series. His average hit a further low of 17 in the last 10 innings, which includes a solitary fifty-plus score.
Following the six-wicket win on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Dravid was asked about Rahul’s prolonged lean patch and India batting legend was rather full of praise for the opener, reminding critics of his heroics in South Africa and England. Dravid’s response also hinted towards a rather longer run for Rahul in the Test team amid calls from veterans and experts to pick in-form Shubman Gill for the third Test.
“I think he needs to trust his processes. This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got hundreds in South Africa and England, we’ll continue to back him. I believe he has the quality and class to come out of this. It is great working with this unit, managing formats is the most difficult part. But there’s not a lot of technical coaching, just simple conversations and challenging them, and giving them a pat on the back when they do well,” Dravid told Star Sports.
Rohit, meanwhile, revealed during the post-match conference that has been talk around his current form.
“Of late, there has been lot of talk on his batting. But for us as team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL. I have been asked in the past about lot of players. If a guy has potential, guys will get that extended run,” Rohit said.
Rahul has been retained for the final two Test matches against Australia but has been removed from his vice-captaincy role amid his poor run of form. India have made no changes to their squad.
