After row, onus on KL Rahul to let bat do the talking

KL Rahul is back in the India squad after being sent home from Australia for his comments in a television talk show. Poor scores in Tests against Australia - where he got into double figures once, in Adelaide - had former India captain Sunil Gavaskar calling for Rahul to return to playing in the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka.

Cricket wouldn’t be the only thing likely to sour KL Rahul’s recollections of 2018 and early 2019. As India look to settle the reserve opener’s debate going into the 50-over World Cup in England this summer, the onus is on Rahul to show he has been able to recalibrate his game and refocus.

File image of KL Rahul. (Reuters)

Rahul is back in the India squad after being sent home from Australia for his comments in a television talk show. Poor scores in Tests against Australia - where he got into double figures once, in Adelaide - had former India captain Sunil Gavaskar calling for Rahul to return to playing in the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka. Not only is Rahul out of form, he is not just there, Gavaskar had told a television news channel.

Rahul has since scored 89 and 81 against England Lions earlier this month and the series against Australia comprising two T20 Internationals and five One-day Internationals will show whether he has been able to turn the corner.

Rahul made 69 runs in three one-dayers last year that included a 60 against Afghanistan. And barring a 70 against Ireland which he followed with a 101 not out against England last July, Rahul didn’t have a score over 50 in seven T20 Internationals.

“At such a major tournament (World Cup), we can’t afford to go in without a third opener (after Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma). That’s why we have included KL Rahul for the T20Is and the ODIs against Australia. We have to see how he performs because his form is also very important,” India chief selector MSK Prasad said in an interview on Hotstar.

With 2/45 and a good catch to send back Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya, Rahul’s partner in that talk show where they made sexist comments, had managed to make a strong statement on his comeback to the India team in New Zealand.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had lifted the interim suspension on both because the case needed to be dealt with by a yet-to-be appointed ombudsman. That changed on Thursday with DK Jain coming on board.

The next few weeks will show whether Rahul can put all that aside and let his bat do the talking.