Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said the Indian support staff work on KL Rahul when he is away from the playing XI. There are strong indications that Rahul might be benched for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune starting Thursday as fit-again Shubman Gill is slated to make a comeback to the XI. Gill missed the first Test in Bengaluru due to a stiff neck. His replacement, Sarfaraz Khan, made the opportunity with hands by slamming a 150 – his maiden Test century – in the second innings to help India cover a mammoth 356-run lead and make New Zealand bat again.
Rahul, who has found a new lease of life in the middle-order, has been in pretty good form with the bat, but because he was the only Indian batter who did not get a decent score in the series opener, the axe may fall on him to accommodate both Gill and Sarfaraz in the XI.
Manjrekar felt sorry for Rahul but added that it was a mystery how a batter who has got so many centuries in overseas conditions, often battling feisty quicks under harsh conditions, hasn’t been able to score consistently.
“Yes (Rahul will have to make way). Shubman Gill is the in-form No. 3. I feel sorry for KL Rahul because he has been quite an enigma scoring 8-9 (8) centuries but he averages 35 (33.87) in 50 (53) odd tests. He has two centuries in South Africa, and the last one he got was the only one from an Indian, so a guy who can do that somehow hasn’t been able to sustain quality performances. He’s got so much class and ability… Let’s hope somebody works on him when he’s away from playing XI,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
Since shifting to the middle-order, Rahul has registered scores of 101, 4, 8, 86, 22, 116, 22*, 68, 0 and 12.
Gambhir backs Rahul
However, Gambhir defended Rahul and backed the experienced batter by stating that social media won’t influence the decision. He even praised Rahul for his well-poised 68(43) against Bangladesh in Kanpur during the second Test.
“Social media doesn’t matter one bit. You don’t pick players based on social media, even what the experts are saying or think. It is important to what team management thinks and what the leadership group. International cricket is all about being judged. He has had a decent knock in Kanpur in difficult conditions. Yes, he wants to score big runs, and that is why he is being backed by the team management,” Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
