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'Good balls not getting him out. It's his poor shot selection': Azharuddin's hard-hitting take on KL Rahul's failures
Mohammad Azharuddin spoke in detail about India star KL Rahul, who is facing issues with his consistency across all formats.
Team India returned to action in the new year with the T20Is against Sri Lanka as Hardik Pandya led the side to a 2-1 win at home. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced a significantly different squad for the T20Is that seemingly hinted at a shift from the old guard, that includes the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as both remained absent from the series. However, star opener KL Rahul was also missing from the squad in the shortest format, posing doubts over whether the 30-year-old is now on borrowed time following inconsistent performances in the national colours.
Since making a return from his injury last year, Rahul has failed to make a mark for the Indian team across formats. The opener scored only one half-century throughout the T20 World Cup where India faced a 10-wicket loss in the semi-final, and failed to register a single 50+ score in the Tests against Bangladesh. Rahul did produce important knocks in the Bangladesh ODIs as he played in the middle-order, and retained his place in the format for the series against Sri Lanka.
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin spoke in detail about Rahul's concerns, stating that coaches need to work with the India star. Azhar also pointed out that Rahul is getting dismissed due to his own mistakes rather than bowler's genius.
“I think consistency is the problem in KL Rahul's case. But I think there are coaches who should rectify his flaws. In my opinion, he is a good player but consistency is missing in his game,” Azharuddin told PTI.
Rahul, who has had a string of poor scores since his international comeback, was bowled round his legs for a sedate 39 in the opening ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday.
"I think Rahul is getting out in a lot of manners. Primarily, it is not the good balls that are getting him out. It is poor shot selection first up that is causing problems," said Azhar, who believes that all senior players should take out time and play domestic cricket.
Rahul had donned the wicketkeeping gloves in the first ODI of the series against Sri Lanka as well.
Azharuddin, meanwhile, is president of Hyderabad Cricket Association for more than a year now. "It has been good so far. We are fighting to revive the lost reputation of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. We have had a lot of work done (in terms of renovation) in the Stadium arena as well as dressing rooms.
"When I took charge, it was all in pathetic condition. We will be hosting our second international match in three months time (vs New Zealand). We are very happy that the BCCI has recognized our hardwork and matches are being allotted to us," Azharuddin said.
