Since the departure of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from red-ball cricket, KL Rahul is one of the few remaining members from the previous leadership setup. Rahul is currently in action in the ongoing India vs England first Test match in Leeds, and got a strong start in the first innings, but failed to capitalise, departing for 42 runs.
The opener also had a strong strong in the second innings on Day 3, and is currently unbeaten at 47*. He showcased his shot selection in the final session as India got to 90/2 at Stumps, with a lead of 96 runs.
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‘Total team man’
Such has been his impact in the series, that Sunil Gavaskar lavished praise on the India opener, and also revealed the reason why the Karnataka cricketer hasn’t been able to fulfill his potential yet.
“Total team man. He has even been asked to keep wickets. He does that for the team, and that's what you want in the team. You see the way he reacts to the situation. He's got an equanimity about him, which is so rare because in today's day and age where everybody's got to be doing things to show that they have achieved something, his celebrations are also muted. One thing everybody agrees about KL Rahul is that he doesn't know how good a player he is. I mean, he would agree,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Total team man. He has even been asked to keep wickets. He does that for the team, and that's what you want in the team. You see the way he reacts to the situation. He's got an equanimity about him, which is so rare because in today's day and age where everybody's got to be doing things to show that they have achieved something, his celebrations are also muted. One thing everybody agrees about KL Rahul is that he doesn't know how good a player he is. I mean, he would agree,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}In awe of his shot selection, Gavaskar continued, “He's got so much talent. Look at all the shots on the offside, leg-side, the flick, everything. All the shots, but he hasn't lived up to that. Now, that could be a bit of self-doubt in his mind or whatever that sometimes keeps the Bangalore boys from fulfilling their potential.”
“Thrilling to watch off the front foot, off the back foot, then the straight batter drive, which we saw just now and the cover drive. I can rave about that cover drive because there's perfection in that. I hope that he comes good in this series and scores over 500, maybe 700 runs. That would be fantastic from India,” he further added.
Rahul will resume batting for India on Day 4, alongwith skipper Shubman Gill (6*), who got a ton in the first innings.