Former England batter Owais Shah has praised senior India batter KL Rahul, stating that with Virat Kohli's retirement, Rahul will now come out of his shadow and flourish. The former English batter believes Rahul is poised to excel in the current team setup. Rahul has returned to the opener's role after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and has shown promising signs with a couple of centuries already in the series. The star batter has embraced the responsibility of anchoring the batting order, aiming to provide stability so that his teammates can express themselves more freely around him.
Rahul has slammed 375 runs in six innings at an average of 62.50.
Shah asserted that Rahul stayed in Kohli's shadow for a long period of time, but that is not the case now, as he feels the star opener is the new main man in the side, not Shubman Gill.
"I think he's been in the shadow of Kohli. With Kohli at the crease, he was always going to be your main batsman and Rahul was under the radar. But this is his time to flourish. This is the first series without Virat Kohli. Look at the batting order, yes Shubman Gill has done really well, I wasn't expecting it. I did not think he had it in him to do what he's done so far," Shah said on 'Beard Before Wicket' podcast.
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‘KL Rahul may just outscore Shubman Gill’
Shah backed Rahul, calling him the most reliable batter in the current Indian lineup. He praised Rahul’s sound technique and composed mindset and claimed that in the next 10–15 games, he could outshine Shubman Gill and take charge of the batting unit.
{{/usCountry}}Shah backed Rahul, calling him the most reliable batter in the current Indian lineup. He praised Rahul’s sound technique and composed mindset and claimed that in the next 10–15 games, he could outshine Shubman Gill and take charge of the batting unit.
{{/usCountry}}"But I still feel KL Rahul is the best batsman in the batting line-up who you should be able to rely on. And it is time for him to deliver the sort of numbers his technique and temperament promise. I feel KL, over 10-15 matches, may just outscore Shubman Gill. I think we will see him really come about in the next 12 months," he added.
With his century at Lord’s, Rahul became only the second Indian after Dilip Vengsarkar to feature multiple times on the iconic venue’s honours board. However, despite his standout performance, India couldn’t seal the win and now find themselves trailing 1-2 in the five-match Test series.