KL Rahul can move out of the shadows of senior players in the Indian Test team and stamp his authority in this period of transition that the side is going through, according to former batting coach Sanjay Bangar. India embark on a five-match Test series in England just a month after captain Rohit Sharma and talisman Virat Kohli retired. Rahul is now among the senior most members of a team led by 25-year-old Shubman Gill.
“I think what he is expecting from himself is going to be extremely critical,” Bangar said on Star Sports. “Now that he has been with the team since 2014, it’s 10 long years, he has the opportunity to come outside the shadows of maybe Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma. He has always played under the shadow of these marquee players.”
As is the case in limited overs cricket, Rahul has often had to move up and down the batting order based on the team’s needs and, at times, his own inability to cement himself. While he played a large part of his career as an opener, Rahul shifted to lower down the order to play as a wicketkeeper-batter while Rishabh Pant was recovering from a life-threatening car crash. Rahul then returned to the top of the order in India’s tour of Australia last year but even then, he shifted back to the middle order to accommodate Rohit as an opener. With Rohit’s retirement, Rahul is expected to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in England.
“In this World Test Championship cycle, he can stamp his authority and make this phase his own. From that perspective, it’s a very exciting phase for KL Rahul. If he does end up doing this, I think his name will also be taken in the same realm as the cricketing greats of the Indian fraternity who have played Test matches,” Bangar elaborated.
“So that’s a huge opportunity for him, and he has got all the experience. Along with that, what should give him confidence is that he has scored hundreds under trying circumstances all around the globe. So, I believe exciting phase for KL Rahul from hereon,” said Bangar.