I would've gone to KL Rahul and said 'take a break': Ex-BCCI chief selector's stern message for struggling India opener

Former India opener and a former chief selector, Krishnamchari Srikkanth said he would have asked KL Rahul to take a break and come back fresh as he believes the right-hander does not have technical faults, it's the mental aspect that he is struggling with.

For a cricketer who has scored six out of his seven Test centuries away from home and in varied conditions in Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka, KL Rahul has rather dwindling overall numbers. The average of 33.44 after 47 Tests really doesn't do justice to the talent Rahul has. But the question is, how long can the team management keep persisting with Rahul in the XI when players like Shubman Gill are warming the benches, just on the basis of talent and not performance?

Cricket - Second Test - India v Australia - Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, India - February 18, 2023 India's KL Rahul in action REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (REUTERS)

Rahul has a highest score of 23 in his last 10 innings in red ball cricket. Even when he was scoring those away centuries, he never quite managed to ride that confidence and make a series or a season his very own. He has somehow been an all-or-nothing kind of player in Test cricket. And that is one of the main reasons why fans and former cricketers have run out of patience with the talented right-hander.

Captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid have made it clear they would continue to back Rahul but the selectors, by removing him as vice-captain for the remaining two Tests against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, have given clear indications his long rope is coming to an end.

Comparing Rahul's class to that of a 'Rolls Royce', former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth said he is a big fan of the opener but right now, he needs some time away from the cricket field.

“I have tremendous admiration for the class of Rahul, in fact I call him Rolls Royce Rahul... but it is just not happening for him at the moment. If I was the chairman of selectors, I would have gone up to him and told him to take a break for a while,” Srikkanth told The Times of India.

Srikkanth, who was the chairman of selectors when India won the 2011 World Cup, said if Shubman Gill should play the third Test in Indore, starting March 1. “But with all due respect to Rahul, it is time to play Shubman. You can’t keep a player waiting when he is in the form of his life,” Srikkanth said.

The 1983 World Cup winner could not find any technical faults in Rahul's batting. “I cannot pinpoint a technical deficiency in his game at the moment. I think this is more mental and all Rahul needs to do is take a break and sort his mind out. There’s no reason why he can’t come back with all guns blazing,” Srikkanth said.