Time to consolidate for Rahul
After proving shorter format credentials, KXIP captaincy gives the opener a chance to enhance reputation
NEW DELHI: After prolonged uncertainty, exacerbated by a ban for making sexist comments on a TV show and playing pawn to the whims of a management that made him bat at different middle-order positions, KL Rahul’s career is finally getting back on track.
In the middle of a high-yielding shorter format series against West Indies, Rahul, 27, has finally proven to be a potent opener ready to replace an injured Shikhar Dhawan, who at 34, anyway doesn’t seem to have much time left in his curtailed international career.
A day after his third One-day International century in Visakhapatnam, Rahul was also named captain of Kings XI Punjab, where he has been playing since 2018.
He is Kings XI Punjab’s 12th captain in 13 seasons, but the first Indian since Yuvraj Singh (2008-09) to be vested with that responsibility while peaking for the national team. For a franchise that has given the captaincy to seven overseas players, batsmen on the wane (Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay) and a spinner (R Ashwin), this could be a desperate attempt to correct a winless IPL timeline. “I think we have seen one of the best captains in Indian cricket being a wicketkeeper and batsman. This is the right moment for Rahul in his career. This leadership role will really help him grow,” Kings XI director of cricket operations and former India captain Anil Kumble told reporters during the IPL auction in Kolkata on Thursday.
Could this be a turning point in his career? Has Rahul’s time finally come? Despite the hiccups, what was never in doubt was his ability. Few batsmen have the technical knowhow to open the batting in all formats. Rahul is one of them. Having first emerged in red-ball cricket as someone who knows how to play out time before consolidating, Rahul rose pretty quickly by adding more adventurous shots to his repertoire. And he has been in good nick for some time now. Even in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy that Karnataka successfully defended in Surat, Rahul had aggregated 313 runs in eight innings at an average of 52.16 and a strike rate of 155.72. Doing well in the T20Is against West Indies was therefore a natural extension of his game.
He has raised his bar over the years but what was surprising was how Rahul had upstaged Rohit Sharma in the second ODI at Visakhapatnam. For a bulk of the 227-run opening partnership, Rahul was ahead of Sharma in terms of strike rate and aggression.
When Sharma was still finding his feet, Rahul came down the pitch to spinner Khary Pierre and cleared him over the midwicket boundary, three overs after he had slashed Jason Holder over the backward point boundary. Had it not been for Rahul’s intent, India would have found themselves in a hole when Sharma was tied down for 12 deliveries. After his serieswinning 91 in the third T20I in Mumbai, this innings has further established Rahul’s bigmatch temperament.
Rahul has recalibrated his batting, opting for a different stance and back-lift, but there remains no doubt he is most comfortable opening. “I got the opportunity to bat up the order in a place where I’m comfortable.
› We have seen one of the best captains in India being a wicketkeeper & batsman. This is the right moment for Rahul in his career. This leadership role will really help him grow. ANIL KUMBLE, KXIP cricket director
It’s where I feel I can play my best. Just wanted to make it count. I’m very clear about what I have to do,” Rahul had said on TV after his innings in Visakhapatnam. Now that he has earned the right to choose where he bats, a leadership position could bring the best out of him. From that perspective, an IPL captaincy comes at an opportune time. On the upswing, Rahul needs to use this stint to build a reputation that could make him an India captaincy contender in future.
Ask Sharma who had come across something similar in 2013 when he was chosen to lead Mumbai Indians. Just two centuries old then, Sharma was yet to be a regular ODI opener while his Test debut was still seven months away.
But the stint offered him an opportunity to be his own, open the batting and take more responsibility. Four successful IPL campaigns later, Sharma now is an astute T20 captain, one of the finest one-day openers ever and finally looking good to stretch his luck in Tests. Considering Mayank Agarwal’s brilliant run as opener, a berth in the Test side may not open up just yet but Rahul has enough to chew on right now.
The IPL captaincy comes on the back of two very prolific seasons for Kings XI Punjab where he had scored 659 runs (at an average of 54.91) and 593 runs (average of 53.9) respectively.
As an understudy to Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore, often doubling up as wicketkeeper, Rahul’s IPL career has seen more lows and highs. That should serve as a lesson for Rahul. A good finish here could help KXIP lock him as icon for the next phase when fresh auctions are held for the 2021 IPL. And KXIP desperately need that permanence too. All Rahul needs to do is keep the chatter away from his head, as suggested by his calm celebration after completing his hundred on Wednesday.